The new radar suite was installed on Richard M McCool Jr  in January 2023.  (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) awarded a contract for the next landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious ships while onboard testing on the enhanced radar suite is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.  The USN awarded HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division a USD1.3 billion modification on 31 March to an earlier awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of amphibious transport dock LPD 32, the third Flight II LPD. The resulting fixed...

Raytheon is set to conduct more testing on its SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) installed on the guided missile destroyer   Jack Lucas  .  (HII)    Raytheon is set to conduct more testing on its SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) installed on the guided-missile destroyer    USS   Jack Lucas  (DDG 125), according to Mike Mills, Raytheon senior director of naval radars.     “We've successfully completed two underways on   Jack Lucas  ,” Mills not...

The radar modular assembly structure is the building block for SPY-6 radar scalability. (Raytheon)  Raytheon is working under a US Navy task order to analyse whether the service's future proposed guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X)) fleet should be outfitted with a radar that has 37 radar modular assemblies (RMAs) or 57 RMAs, said Mike Mills, Raytheon's senior director of naval radars.  Each RMA is a self-contained radar antenna in a 2×2×2 inch (5×5×5 cm) box, according to Raytheon. The RMAs stack together – are scaled – to fit the mission requi...

China's Type 052D destroyer,   Nanning  , seen here, participating in NAVDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.  (Source withheld)    In early February 2023, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted a duty handover ceremony in the Gulf of Aden. The ceremony was carried out between ships of the service's 42nd and 43rd Chinese naval escort flotillas. It transfers duties associated with this recurring task group, which centre around anti-piracy missions, to the lead ship of the 43rd flottila, the Luyang III (Type 052D...

The recent navy contract provides for the first SPY-6(V)4 versions to be backfit on DDG 51 Flight IIA destroyers. (Raytheon)  The USD619 million contract awarded to Raytheon on 29 March to buy SPY-6 radar sets for the US Navy (USN) also provides for the first SPY-6(V)4 versions to be backfit on DDG 51 Flight IIAs, according to Mike Mills, senior director of naval radars, Raytheon.    “This starts getting your 24 RMA [radar modular assembly] configuration for BMD [ballistic missile defence] AMDR [air- and missile-defence radar],” Mills to...

With the new radar suite equipment installed on carrier   John F Kennedy  , Raytheon plans to bring the radar online later in 2023.  (Michael Fabey)  With all the hardware installed on aircraft carrier John F Kennedy  (CVN 79) for its SPY-6(V)3 radar suite in 2022, Raytheon is preparing to start bringing the radar online in the fourth quarter of 2023, Mike Mills, Raytheon senior director of naval radars, told   Janes  .   “We'll move into where we hand that system over to the testing team [and] they'll start testi...

The maximum range of the Indian Army's Akash Weapon System, seen here taking part in the full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade 2023, is 30 km and it can hit targets at a maximum elevation of 18 km. (Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images)  The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded contracts to supply Akash Weapon System (AWS), next-generation maritime mobile coastal batteries-long range (NGMMCB-LR), and BrahMos missiles to the Indian Armed Forces.  On 30 March 2023, the MoD signed a contract worth INR81.6 billion (USD993 million)...

Naval Group launched the Belgian Navy's first new mine countermeasures vessel, named   Oostende  (M 940), at Piriou shipyard in Concarneau, France, on 29 March.  (Naval Group)  French shipbuilder Naval Group launched the first of 12 mine-countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) on order for the Belgian and Netherlands (BE/NL) navies and laid the keel for the third ship during a ceremony at Piriou shipyard in Concarneau, France, on 29 March.    First-of-class   Oostende  (M 940) and third ship   Tourna...

The Spanish Navy's first S-81 Plus submarine,   Isaac Peral  , conducted its first static dive test on 30 March 2023.   (Navantia)  The Spanish Navy's first new S-80 Plus diesel-electric submarine (SSK) has achieved another milestone with the completion of its first static dive test.    First-of-class   Isaac Peral  (S-81) conducted its first static immersion in the waters of La Algameca naval station, opposite the Spanish Navy's diving centre in Cartagena, on 30 March. The test follows the success...

An artist's rendition of the Flight III DDG 51 shows the new AN/SPY-6(V) radar antenna array. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)  The US Navy (USN) awarded Raytheon Technologies a USD619 million contract to continue producing AN/SPY-6(V) radars, the company confirmed on 29 March, exercising the second option from the March 2022 hardware, production, and sustainment contract that is valued up to USD3 billion over five years.  The work is expected to be completed by September 2026, the Department of Defense (DoD) said. About USD470.6 million in fi...

The Netherlands Marine Corps' existing fleet of 12 LCVPs will be replaced by 20 new landing craft, comprising a mix of eight LACs and 12 LCMs. (Netherlands MoD)  The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined plans for the replacement of the Netherlands Marine Corps' landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP) vessels from 2025.    In a 23 March report to the Dutch parliament's House of Representatives, State Secretary of Defence Christophe van der Maat said the existing fleet of 12 LCVPs    would approach the end of their service...

FNSS has delivered the first Zaha MAVs to the Turkish Navy. (FNSS)  Turkey's FNSS Savunma Sistemleri has started delivering the first new Zaha Marine Assault Vehicles (MAVs) to the Turkish Naval Forces Command's (TNFC's) Amphibious Infantry Brigade, the company has announced.  The Zaha MAV has been developed by FNSS to meet the requirements of the Turkish navy in support of amphibious operations under an agreement signed between Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and FNSS in 2017. The vehicles are planned to be deployed from the...

A file image of USS   Chinook  patrolling in the Persian Gulf. The vessel was retired on 28 March 2023 with its sister ship, USS   Monsoon  . Both are being transferred to the Philippines.  (US Navy)  The Philippine Navy is set to receive two more Cyclone-class coastal patrol boats that were formerly in service with the US Navy (USN).    The vessels, USS   Monsoon  and USS   Chinook  , were retired by the USN's Fifth Fleet on 28 March at a decommissioning ceremony in Manama...

Aircraft carrier USS   John C Stennis  will not be getting an Unmanned Aviation Warfare Center during its overhaul.  (US Navy)    The proposed Unmanned Aviation Warfare Center (UAWC) for the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) slated for aircraft carrier USS   George Washington  (CVN 73) and other Nimitz-class ships is no longer part of the Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) for USS   John C Stennis  (CVN 74), according to recently released fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget propo...

Healy   is one of only two operational US Coast Guard icebreakers.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Coast Guard (USCG) is seeing progress for its cutter programmes for ships meant for cold-climate operations, according to Admiral Steven Poulin, USCG vice commandant.  Speaking about the proposed new Polar Security Cutter (PSC) on 28 March at the Heritage Foundation discussion on USCG programmes and operations, Adm Poulin said, “I look forward to cutting steel – hopefully very soon.”  Referring to the proposed Arctic Security Cutter...

China showcased the HQ-9B surface-to-air missile weapons system at Airshow China 2022. The country has deployed the upgraded system with eight smaller missiles in PLA's Central Theater Command. (Future Publishing via Getty Images)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed the upgraded HQ-9B medium-range, medium-altitude air-defence system in an anti-aircraft brigade of Central Theater Command (CTC).  Video footage released by PLA-affiliated broadcaster js7tv shows the PLA deploying and testing the HQ-9B surface-to-air missile (SAM) sy...

Destroyer   Lyndon B Johnson's  delivery is being delayed to prepare the ship for Conventional Prompt Strike missions.  (US Navy)    The US Navy's (USN's) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal has confirmed plans to delay the delivery of its third and final DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer – USS   Lyndon B Johnson  (DDG 1002) – so that the ship can receive the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on compl...

Very short-range air-defence system missile. (Janes)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired two of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles in March 2023. The flight tests were the second development trial of the missile.  VSHORADS is a manportable air-defence system (MANPADS) designed and developed by the DRDO and Indian industry partners. VSHORADS was first test-fired in September 2022.  According to the DRDO, VSHORADS is a fourth-generation weapon system equipped with a dual-thrust rocke...

HNLMS  De Zeven Provinciën  pictured in the Atlantic in May 2021 during Exercise ‘At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 21'. ASD/FS-21 served as a ‘graduation exercise' for the new MBMD capability.  (US Navy)  Some two decades after entering service, the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) four De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigates (luchtverdedigings en commandofregatten: LCF) are receiving a package of improvements intended to sustain and enhance their operational capability into the 2030s.    Alo...

An infographic released by the Singapore Ministry of Defence, which depicts the MRCV as a mother ship for various unmanned systems. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)  Singapore has awarded its state-linked defence prime ST Engineering with a contract to design and build six multirole combat vessels (MRCVs).  The award was announced by the Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a 28 March news release, but no contract value was provided.  MINDEF first disclosed in July 2018 that the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is retiring its class-of-s...