Italian Navy Thaon di Revel-class PPA ITS   Francesco Morosini   seen at Langkawi during its 2023 Asia-Pacific tour.  (Janes/Mansasvi Sharma Shanker)  Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced on 28 March that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.27) contract for two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).  However, Indonesia's ability to fund this commitment is presently unclear given the lack of an allocation for this programme in...

The USN CNO noted the need for the development of directed energy weapons, such as the laser system shown in this artist's rendition. (Lockheed Martin)  Recent US Navy (USN) operations in the Red Sea have underscored the importance of logistics, according to Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the USN chief of naval operations (CNO).  Adm Franchetti also noted the importance of developing new weapons and related capabilities to match emerging threats.  The CNO made the comments during a discussion for Defense One that was shown online on 27 March.  “I'v...

An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)  The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).    “The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said i...

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seen here at the handover ceremony of   An Chiang  (625) and   Wan Chiang  (626) on 26 March 2024.   (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)  The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) has received its fifth and sixth Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvettes.  Presiding over the vessels' handover ceremony on 26 March at Yilan was Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen who in an official social media post on the same day described the handover event as “an important step forward for Taiwan'...

SEA's Ancilia trainable decoy launcher system has been selected to meet the UK's EWCM Increment 1a requirement. (SEA)  Systems Engineering & Assessment (SEA) has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to satisfy its requirement for a new trainable decoy launcher to enable soft-kill protection of Royal Navy (RN) Type 45 destroyers, Type 26 frigates, and Type 31 frigates.  On 26 March the MoD announced that SEA (part of the Cohort Group) had been selected to deliver the Electronic Warfare Counter Measures (EWCM) Increment 1a programm...

The US Navy is looking to decommission USS  Jackson  .  (Janes/Michael Fabey)    The US Navy (USN) wants to decommission 19 vessels during fiscal year (FY) 2025, including 10 ships before they have reached planned end of their expected service lives (ESLs), according to the  Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2025  , often called the USN's 30-year shipbuilding plan, sent to US lawmakers on 19 March.   The shipbuilding plan details t...

Myanmar's second Kyan Sit Thar-class frigate, UMS   Sin Phyu Shin  , seen here as it arrives at Visakhapatnam, India, for Exercise ‘Milan' 2024. It can be seen here equipped with the Revathi radar.  (Indian MoD)  Myanmar has equipped its second Kyan Sit Thar-class guided-missile frigate, UMS Sin Phyu Shin, with the Indian-made Revathi 3D air surveillance radar.  Janes can now confirm that the radar was fully incorporated in 2023, and a partial validation of its capabilities was carried out at the ‘Milan' multilate...

The US Navy is looking to decommission USS   Jackson  .  (Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) wants to decommission 19 vessels during fiscal year (FY) 2025, including 10 ships before they have reached planned end of their expected service lives (ESLs), according to the Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2025, often called the USN's 30-year shipbuilding plan, sent to US lawmakers on 19 March.  The shipbuilding plan details the USN's long-term strategy fo...

The Brazilian Navy has organised to better modernise its forces with programmes such as the development of the Riachuelo-class submarines, the lead ship shown here. (Brazilian Navy)  The Navy Directorate-General for Material (Diretoria-Geral do Material da Marinha: DGMM) of the Brazilian Navy has designed a new plan to better organise its role in the modernisation of the service, the DGMM told Janes.  This modernisation, known as the ‘The Navy of Tomorrow', is guided by the Navy Strategic Plan 2040, which establishes strategic programmes to p...

BAE Systems was confirmed as the UK shipbuilding partner for AUKUS submarines, shown here as an artist rendition. (BAE Systems)  Britian's BAE Systems will partner with Australian shipbuilder ASC to build Canberra's nuclear-powered submarines for the trilateral AUKUS defence agreement, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on 21 March.  The partnership deal follows “months of negotiations” and could be worth “billions of pounds”, theMoD said in a release.  First announced in September 2021, AUKUS calls for the three countries – Australia...

Shown here in an artist's rendering, the Polar Security Cutter remains the US Coast Guard's top acquisition priority. (VT Halter Marine/Technology Associates)  Arctic operations remain an important focus for the US Coast Guard (USCG), Admiral Linda Fagan, USCG commandant, noted on 20 March in her State of the USCG address.  The USCG fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request also underscored the service's growing financial commitment to the Arctic, according to budget documents released on 12 March.  “The Arctic is another region important to natio...

Military Sealift Command Bob Hope-class large, medium speed roll-on/roll-off ship USNS   Benavidez  (T-AKR 306) (pictured) is supporting the Pentagon's mission to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza in the coming months.  (US Navy)  A US Navy's large, medium speed roll-on, roll-off ship (LMSR) has been deployed in support of the US Army's joint logistics over-the-shore (JLOTS) operation to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to a navy announcement on 21 March.    Bob Hope-class MV   Roy P Benavidez...

The US Navy wants to acquire two attack submarines, such as New Jersey shown here, per year through the 2030s. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) intends to achieve and sustain a force-structure fleet of 350 ships after fiscal year (FY) 2037, according to the Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2025, often called USN's 30-yearshipbuilding plan, sent to US lawmakers on 19 March.  The USN's proposed FY 2025 budget includes procurement of six manned ships in FY 2025 and 57 mann...

The first SNLE 3G submarine is due to enter service in the mid-2030s. (Naval Group)  French shipbuilding, support, and services contractor Naval Group has formally commenced construction of the first third-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (sous-marin nucléaire lanceur d'engins de troisième génération: SNLE 3G) for the French Navy.  A steel-cutting ceremony was held at Naval Group's Cherbourg shipyard in northwest France on 20 March. The as-yet-unnamed submarine will be the first of a planned four SNLE 3G boats intended...

Aselsan trialled its low-frequency towed active sonar system named Düfas aboard the Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug A-590 TCG   Inebolu  .  (SSB)  Aselsan has revealed its low-frequency towed active sonar, releasing a promotional video showing the system aboard the Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug, A-590 TCG Inebolu, during the trials.  Known as Düfas, the sonar is designed to be used by surface combatants for long-range anti-submarine warfare and surveillance. The system comprises a low-frequency towed active array,...

The DRDO has developed a laser beam-riding guidance   system  equipped with an ELRF to guide its very short-range air-defence system – pictured above from a DRDO test in March 2023.  (DRDO)  India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a laser beam-riding (LBR) guidance system equipped with an eye-safe laser rangefinder (ELRF), a senior DRDO official told Janes on 18 March.  “The technology development of the system is completed and now the DRDO is looking for an Indian i...

Naval Group's Black Sword Barracuda design has been selected as the basis for the Netherlands' Walrus-class replacement submarine programme. (Naval Group)  The Netherlands has selected France's Naval Group as its preferred bidder for a new class of conventional submarine to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) current Walrus-class boats.  Naval Group, offering its Black Sword Barracuda design, was chosen ahead of rival proposals from Saab (bidding the C718 expeditionary derivative of Sweden's A26 design) and Thyssenkrupp Marine Syste...

With the keel being laid in 2022 for carrier  Enterprise  , the expected delivery date for the ship was scheduled for March 2028. The ship is now to be delivered in September 2029.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Industry supporters caution that any delays in the previously planned acquisition schedules of aircraft carriers could have a cascading effect on cost and schedule in the wake of proposed carrier schedule changes in the proposed US Navy's (USN's) fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget, released on 11 March.    “Overal...

An artist's rendering of the Polar Security Cutter, which the US Coast Guard has acknowledged has taken longer than initially estimated to begin fabrication. (VT Halter Marine/Technology Associates)  As US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports continue to question the development and acquisition of the US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), the USCG's Chief Acquisition Officer, Rear Admiral Chad Jacoby, is defending the progress of the shipbuilding effort.  “The government is building the work force to certify the welders...

TCG  Istanbul  seen transiting the Bosphorus Strait enroute to the test site on 2 March.  (Cem Devrim Yaylali)    The Turkish Navy performed its first Hisar-D missile launch from the Midlas vertical launch system (VLS) installed onboard the TCG  Istanbul  in the second week of March.   The event marked the first launch from the indigenous VLS on the high seas. The frigate was observed sailing northbound through the Bosphorus Strait to the test site on 2 March.    Haluk Görgün, the president...