The German parliament's budget committee has approved the purchase of additional ESSMs for the German Navy's Sachsen-class guided-missile frigates. (Michael Nitz)  The German federal parliament's budget committee has authorised the procurement of an initial tranche of RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSMs) for the German Navy's Type 124 Sachsen-class guided-missile frigates.  The procurement proposal is worth in excess of EUR25 million (USD27.53 million) and the scope of supply also covers launch containers, transport containers, and spa...

A file image of J-15 operations on the deck of   Liaoning  . The carrier's sister ship,   Shandong  , carried out a series of operations in the Western Pacific, including a passage near Guam, in April 2023.  (AFP/Getty Images)  In what appears to be the latest flex of its projection capabilities, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has deployed its second aircraft carrier, Shandong, to within 400 n mile of the US island territory of Guam.  According to a map released on 25 April by the Joint Sta...

Australia's first Arafura-class OPV, seen here ahead of its launch. (Luerssen Australia )  The new Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) destined for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will be able to accommodate helicopters on its flight deck.  The matter was confirmed by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) in response to questions from Janes on 20 April. “The Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel deck is designed for helicopters and for support to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations”, the DoD spokesperson said.  The RAN is re...

A Royal New Zealand Navy SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopter is seen at the 2018 Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow. The New Zealand Defence Force has issued a tender to replace the platform through the new Maritime Helicopter Replacement programme. (NZDF)  A request for information (RFI) has been released by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) for its new Maritime Helicopter Replacement (MHR) programme that will deliver a new platform to replace its existing eight SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopters.  The RFI – published on 24 April – seeks a medium helicop...

USCGC  John Scheuerman  (WPC 1146) transits the Strait of Hormuz with an L3Harris Arabian Fox Mast-13 unmanned surface vessel on 19 April.  (USCG)  A US Navy (USN) unmanned surface vessel (USV) has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, marking another milestone in the service's efforts to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence (AI) into maritime operations in the Middle East.  The USV, an Arabian Fox Mast-13 vessel operated by the US Fifth Fleet's Task Force 59, completed the transit o...

A Royal Australian Navy MH-60R helicopter carries the Australian national flag during the 2023 Avalon International Airshow. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Australia is to adopt a defence strategy of denial centred on anti-access/area-denial capabilities focused on its northern approaches and its primary regional area of military interest, the country's most significant strategic review in a generation has revealed.  Conducted by former Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief Angus Houston and former Defence Minister Stephen Smith, and released on...

UK shipbuilder Babcock is engaged in a dispute resolution process (DRP) with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over who should pay for unforeseen cost increases regarding the Type 31 frigate programme.  In a fiscal year (FY) 2023 pre-results stateme...

USCGC   Healy  is one of the service's two operational icebreakers as the service faces delay in building new ships for polar missions.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The expected delivery date of the lead ship US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC) appears to be unknown, according to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).  “Contract delivery date for the lead ship is May 2025, which is one year later than initially planned,” the GAO noted in a 20 April report on acquisitions made by the US Department...

The USN is not using lessons learned properly from fires like those aboard USS   Bonhomme Richard  , according to a government report.  (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) needs to do a better job of harnessing its lessons learned to prevent fires on vessels that are being worked on, according to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).    “Navy organisations collect and analyse lessons learned from fires through a number of processes,” the GAO said in its report,   Navy Ship Fires: Ongoing Efforts to Imp...

A screen capture of the Mir USV torpedo firing demonstration taken from video footage shared by the SSB on its official Twitter page on 18 April. (SSB)  The Turkish Mir armed unmanned surface vessel (USV) developed by Sefine Shipyard in partnership with Aselsan has successfully test-fired a lightweight torpedo for the first time.  During the demonstration, shown in video footage posted by Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) on its official Twitter page on 18 April, the Mir USV fired a lightweight torpedo from a double torpedo tube...

USCGC   John Scheuerman  (WPC 1146) transits the Strait of Hormuz with an L3Harris Arabian Fox Mast-13 unmanned surface vessel on 19 April.   (USCG)  A US Navy (USN) unmanned surface vessel (USV) has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, marking another milestone in the service's efforts to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence (AI) into maritime operations in the Middle East.  The USV, an Arabian Fox Mast-13 vessel operated by the US Fifth Fleet's Task Force 59, completed the transi...

PAC-3 missiles are being tested in operations with Aegis Combat Systems. (Lockheed Martin)    Having proved it can operate the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) missile with Aegis Ashore, Lockheed Martin is now set to conduct additional flight tests at White Sands in early 2024 using the Aegis Combat System, Joe DePietro, company vice-president and general manager for Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems, told   Janes   on 4 April during the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2023 conference held in National Harbor, Maryland....

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration has announced the development of KTSSM-II, which will be an enhanced version of KTSSM (pictured above). (ADD)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced the development of an enhanced version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) or KTSSM-II.  The project to develop the missile is named the Tactical Ground-Based Guided Weapon-II Project. DAPA allocated KRW1.55 trillion (USD1.17 billion) for the project. The missile development is...

Chinese J-15 fighter jets waiting on the deck of   Liaoning  aircraft carrier during military drills in the Bohai Sea in 2016. China has since deployed its aircraft carriers, including   Shandong  , for various exercises in the Western Pacific region and the South China Sea.  (AFP/Getty Images)  On 5 April 2023, one of the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) aircraft carriers, Shandong, travelled through the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait in the south of Taiwan.  The sail through would have...

The UK Royal Navy's eighth Type 23 frigate HMS   Montrose   is formally decommissioned from service during a ceremony held at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, on 17 April 2023.  (Royal Navy)  The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) eighth Type 23 Duke-class frigate, HMS Montrose (F 236), has officially retired after 29 years of active service.  The ship was formally decommissioned during a ceremony held at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, on 17 April.  Montrose was laid down in November 1989, launched on 31 July 1992, and commissioned int...

The Lanza 3D medium-range surveillance radar (pictured) is part of two of the three Defence Deployable Air Traffic Management and Control Systems (DDATMCS) delivered by Indra to the RAAF. (Indra)  Spanish technology company Indra delivered three deployable air traffic management systems to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under the Australian Department of Defence's (DoD's) Project AIR 5341 Phase 1.  The systems, named the Defence Deployable Air Traffic Management and Control Systems (DDATMCS), will enable the RAAF to manage airfield and...

JS   Atago  , USS   Benfold  , and ROKS   Yulgok Yi I  are seen here conducting a trilateral BMD exercise in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).  (JMSDF)  The navies of Japan, South Korea, and the US have carried out another trilateral ballistic missile defence (BMD) exercise, in the wake of North Korea's latest missile test.    The BMD exercise was carried out on 17 April by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF's) lead Atago-class destroyer, the Republic of Korea Navy's (RoKN'...

One US Navy shipbuilding scenario would move Ford-class aircraft carrier procurement to four-year centres. (Michael Fabey)  The US Congress will have to markedly increase unconstrained shipbuilding funding if it wants the US Navy (USN) to reach the stated 355-ship force by the middle of this century, according to the USN Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2024, released on 18 April.  As noted by a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report released on 13 April, the 355-ship g...

The Russian Navy has opted to decommission instead of upgrade its lead Lada-class SSK   Sankt Peterburg. (Erik Laursen)    The Russian Navy is planning to decommission its lead Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK)   Sankt Peterburg  rather than completing an upgrade and modernisation programme, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported on 18 April.   According to unnamed industry and shipbuilding sources quoted by TASS, the proposed modernisation was extremely expensive, and the Russia...

The first Orca XLUUV prototype was launched by the USN in April 2022. (US Navy)  The proposed US Navy (USN) Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) programme started testing in March 2023 and is moving forward, according to Captain Scot Searles, programme manager, Unmanned Maritime Systems.  “We're starting to pick up speed,” Capt Searles said on 4 April during a briefing at the annual Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2023 conference held in National Harbor, Maryland.  “The Orca is finally in water,” he said. He also cited the new test si...