Sumaysimah  (F 104), the fourth and final Al Zubarah-class corvette on order for Qatar, was handed over during a ceremony held at Fincantieri's shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, on 16 May.  (Fincantieri)  Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the final Al Zubarah-class multirole corvette on order for the Qatari Emiri Navy.    Fourth-of-class   Sumaysimah  (F 104) was handed over during a ceremony held at Fincantieri's shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, on 16 May.   The four Al Zubarah-class corvettes wer...

The NApANt  Alimirante Saldanha   Antarctic support ship is scheduled to be commissioned by the Brazilian Navy in 2025.  (EMGEPRON)  The Brazilian privately owned shipbuilder Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA) officially marked the start of construction of the NApAnt Almirante Saldanha (H22) Antarctic support ship for the Brazilian Navy on 9 May with the first steel cut of the ship at the company's shipyard located in Aracruz, State of Espírito Santo.  The ship, which is scheduled to replace the NApOc Ary Rongel (H44...

UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Type 26 City-class frigate  Glasgow  arriving in Scotstoun on 3 December 2022 following its launch. The ship is planned to enter service in the late 2020s.  (BAE Systems)    Work on the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Type 26 City-class frigate  Glasgow  has resumed at defence prime BAE Systems' Scotstoun shipyard on the River Clyde in Scotland, while it investigates the cause of damage to ship cables.     Fitting-out work on  Glasgow  was temporarily halted after ar...

JFD's US-based strategic partner BTM is pursuing potential opportunities for Shadow Seal with US Special Operations Command, the US Navy, and other government agencies. (JFD)  A new hybrid multimission swimmer delivery vehicle developed by UK-based JFD has commenced sea trials ahead of delivery to US partner Blue Tide Marine (BTM) later in 2023.  Shadow Seal is described by JFD as “an adaptable and extremely capable lightweight tactical diving vehicle (TDV) able to transport a pilot, a navigator, and two passengers in surface, semi-submerged,...

The ANAO said the country's project to construct Hunter-class frigates – an artist's impression of which is pictured above – faces an 18-month delay, with the first vessel now expected to be delivered in mid-2032 rather than early 2031. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The future of the AUD45 billion (USD30.2 billion) programme to build nine Hunter-class anti-submarine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was called into question, with a report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warning of further delays and significant cost i...

HMS   Vanguard  is expected to return to operations later in 2023 following the completion of its post-refit trial period.  (Crown Copyright)    The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), HMS   Vanguard  (S28), has finally departed Babcock International's Devonport Royal Dockyard facility in Plymouth following the completion of a much-delayed deep maintenance and refuelling programme.     An RN spokesperson confirmed to   Janes   that   V...

The KTSSM, pictured above from a test in 2021, features a payload section carrying a small-diameter penetrator warhead filled with a high‐blast or thermobaric explosive intended to attack protected, underground artillery emplacements. (ADD)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) conducted a quality certification shooting test (QCST) of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM).  The QCST was jointly conducted and supervised by DAPA, the Defense Science Research Institute, the Republic of Korea (RoK) Army...

Australian Army soldiers from the 16th Regiment and the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery received training on the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System. The system includes the Raytheon AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel X-band 3D air-defence radar, the Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Fire Distribution Centre (FDC), and the Kongsberg Mk II canister launcher with provision for the AMRAAM and the AIM-9X interceptors. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian Army has received hands-on training of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile S...

A computer-generated image of the OPV that is being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Navy. Hanwha Systems has secured a contract to provide its combat management system (CMS) and tactical datalink (TDL) for the OPV. (Hyundai Heavy Industries)  South Korea's Hanwha Systems has secured a contract worth USD34.5 million to supply its combat management system (CMS) and tactical datalink (TDL) for the Philippine Navy's new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).  Under the contract, Hanwha...

Japan's defence budget is forecast by  Janes   to grow strongly over the next few years.  (Janes Defence Budgets)  Japan's biggest defence companies – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) – have said they expect orders for military equipment to expand rapidly on the back of the country's growing defence budget.  The companies reported on 10 May strong increases in defence-related revenues and profits for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The two firms also said that Japan's new defence polic...

Cayor,  the third and final OPV 58 S on order for Senegal, is pictured during its launch at Piriou's shipyard in Concarneau on 2 May.   (Piriou)  French shipbuilder Piriou launched the third and final missile-armed Walo (OPV 58 S)-class offshore patrol ship on order for the Senegalese Navy.    The new vessel, named   Cayor  , was floated out during a ceremony held at Piriou's Concarneau shipyard in Brittany, northwest France, on 2 May.   The three OPV 58 S ships are being built by Piriou under a contract signe...

Rheinmetall's MASS decoy system is pictured here firing an Omni-Trap multispectral decoy round during a live trial. Australia will become the 16th user country of the system. (Rheinmetall)  The Australian government has signed a deal with Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) to procure the company's Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS).  The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra said on 5 May that the MASS decoy system will be integrated onto the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) Anzac-class frigates and Hobart-class destroyers.  The deal a...

Newport News Shipbuilding is looking to stabilise submarine construction in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Acknowledging that they are still dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic-related effects, inflation, and supply issues, officials at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division say they are taking measures to stabilise their US nuclear submarine and aircraft construction programmes.    “It's a complex problem,” Jason Ward, Newport News Shipbuilding vice-president, Virginia-class submarine co...

A computer-generated image of an FDI HN frigate deploying corner reflector (SEALEM 08-02) and IR (SEALIR 08-01) payloads. Each FDI HN frigate will be fitted with four fixed Sylena Mk 1 launchers. (Lacroix Defense)  Lacroix Defense has confirmed that it is supplying its Sylena decoy launching system (DLS) and associated decoy ammunition to the Hellenic Navy as part of a larger Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention – Hellenic Navy (FDI HN) contract being delivered by Naval Group.  In a 9 May statement, the company said each FDI HN frigate will b...

MBDA has qualified MAADS with the CAMM-ER missile. (MBDA)  MBDA has qualified the Medium Advanced Air Defence System (MAADS) with its Common Anti-Air Modular Missile-Extended Range (CAMM-ER) missile during a recent test firing, confirming the capabilities and performance of both the missile and the entire system in an integrated mode.  The company announced the successful test on 5 May and said it was the first time that the Detection Centre module - Sirius battle management command, control, communication, computer, and intelligence (BMC4i)...

Saab AB's Maritime Live Training solution's field-level components are on display at IMDEX 2023, Singapore. (Janes/Vinod Kumar CV)  Saab AB has unveiled a training system that can simulate various naval operations, including littoral warfare and amphibious assault missions.  The system, Maritime Live Training (MLT), was unveiled at the IMDEX 2023 exhibition in Singapore, held from 3 to 5 May at the Changi Exhibition Centre.  The MLT is similar to the Force on Force Training Systems–Next (FoFTS-Next), the contract for which was secured with th...

The third ship in the Formidable class, RSS   Steadfast  , (pictured here) while it was in the Singapore Strait. The class will undergo an MLU in 2024.  (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) will begin mid-life upgrade (MLU) works on the country's first Formidable-class frigate in 2024.    The matter was confirmed by the service's Commander First Flotilla Colonel Ng Kok Yeng Daniel during an interview with   Janes   ahead of the IMDEX 2023 naval exhibition held in Singapore fr...

The third-generation UNWAS system enables 24/7 highly automated and cost-efficient surveillance and protection of underwater pipelines, subsea cables, ports, and harbours. (Image Soft)  Image Soft, a Finnish underwater and maritime technology company, launched on 8 May the latest version of its Underwater Surveillance System (UNWAS) designed to protect subsea cables, pipelines, and harbours.  The new third-generation UNWAS system is a highly automated maritime surveillance system that detects, locates, and classifies all underwater threats su...

A still from a video released by the Israel Defense Forces on 18 May 2016 showing an Iron Dome launcher mounted on the helipad of a Sa'ar 5 corvette firing a Tamir missile. Rafael has since released a modular variant of the C-Dome, which is the naval version of Iron Dome, that looks similar to this 2016 set-up. (Israel Defense Forces)  Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has unveiled a modular variant of its C-Dome fleet-area naval air-defence system that can be cross-deployed quickly across multiple vessels.  The concept was unveiled at the IMDE...

A Royal Malaysian Navy Scorpène-class submarine. Indonesia is believed to be eyeing a similar boat, but with air independent propulsion capabilities. (Royal Malaysian Navy)  The Ministry of Finance of Republic of Indonesia has approved a request for the country to take on up to USD2.16 billion in foreign loans to procure air independent propulsion (AIP)-capable submarines.  The matter was confirmed in a letter sent by the country's Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati to her counterpart in the Ministry of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, on 15...