The USN plans to buy 20 Constellation-class guided missile frigates. (Fincantieri Marinette Marine)  Outfitted to build Freedom-class littoral combat ships (LCSs), the Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) shipyard was ill-equipped to build the new fleet of Constellation-class guided-missile frigates (FFG 62s) set to be acquired by the US Navy (USN).  To win the USN contract to build the new ships, FMM disclosed plans to completely overhaul its shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.  The USN awarded the FMM team the FFG 62 fixed-price incentive (firm...

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-flies a very short-range air-defence system missile in Odisha on 14 March 2023. The missile has a length of 2 m, a diameter of 0.09 m, and a weight of 21 kg. (DRDO)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed two flight tests of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.    According to a press release by the MoD on 14 March, the tests were conducted from the Integrated Test Range...

ATLA displayed a model of its scramjet-powered hypersonic anti-ship missile at the DSEI Japan 2023 show. The model shows elements of the missile, including its seeker, warhead, fuel tank, scramjet, and energy source. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)    Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) is accelerating the development of its proposed scramjet-powered hypersonic anti-ship missile, an agency official told  Janes  at the DSEI Japan 2023 show in Chiba on 15 March.   The official, who did not want to be identified, sai...

The US Navy intends to retire guided-missile cruiser USS   Cowpens  earlier than its planned service life.  (US Navy)  The proposed US Navy (USN) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget includes the early retirement of eight ships as the service looks to divest of expensive platforms the navy deems to be unworthy of further investment, according to USN budget documents released on 13 March.  “The department's budget includes a reduction of 11 ships, eight of which are listed here before their end-of-service-life (ESL),” USN...

An Australian Collins-class submarine, HMAS   Sheean  , arrives for a logistics port visit in Hobart. The class is expected to be retired closer to 2040, when Australia is expected to operate its nuclear-powered boats.  (Australian Defence Force via Get)  The leaders of Australia, the UK, and the US have unveiled a phased ‘Optimised Pathway' that will equip Canberra with two nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) classes over the next two decades.  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the move, which...

The US Navy's proposed fiscal year 2024 budget request includes funding for two Constellation-class guided-missile frigates. (Fincantieri Marinette Marine)  The US Navy (USN) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request includes USD14.3 billion for surface combatants, including funding to bolster guided-missile destroyer (DDG) and frigate (FFG) numbers, according to Pentagon budget documents released on 13 March.  The FY 2024 proposal includes about USD4.8 billion for two DDG 51 Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, compared with USD8.2 billion...

The US Navy's fiscal year 2024 budget proposal includes funding for an AS(X) submarine tender to replace Emory S Land-class submarine tenders such as   Frank Cable  .  (Chris Gee)  The US Navy (USN) is requesting USD1.7 billion in its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal for an AS(X) submarine tender replacement, according to budget documents released on 13 March by the Pentagon.  The funding would significantly accelerate the AS(X) submarine tender, representing a substantial increase over the FY 2023 amount of...

The UK Royal Navy has placed an order with HII for six REMUS 300 small autonomous underwater vehicles (similar to this one). (Huntington Ingalls Industries)  The UK Royal Navy (RN) is acquiring six new REMUS 300 small autonomous underwater vehicles (SAUVs) from the Mission Technologies division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Unmanned Systems to support protection of the continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD), and expeditionary mine-countermeasures (MCM) operations.  Being delivered to the RN's Diving and Threat Exploitation Group (DTXG),...

The US Navy's proposed fiscal year 2024 budget includes funding for Ford-class aircraft carrier John F Kennedy. (Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request includes USD3.9 billion for Ford-class aircraft carrier construction and Nimitz-class Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) life extension work, according to USN and Pentagon budget documents released 13 March.  The FY 2024 request represents a decrease of about USD462.8 million compared to last year's funding, documents show.  The proposed FY 2024 spending plan inc...

The US Navy's FY 2024 budget request includes the first Columbia-class submarine acquisition. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) department is requesting about USD255.8 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2024, or about 4.5% more than the USD244.7 billion in funding enacted for FY 2023, according to navy officials and budget documents released on 13 March.  The navy department's total FY 2024 request includes about USD53.2 billion for the US Marine Corps (USMC) and USD202.5 billion for the USN, compared with USD51.9 billion enacted in FY 2023 for the USMC...

The US Navy's proposed FY 2024 budget requests funding for two Virginia-class attack submarines. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) is requesting about USD48.1 billion for shipbuilding and marine systems in its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal, released on 13 March.  The largest single category, by amount, for that request is USD18.6 billion for submarine combatants, according to budget documents released that day.  Anchoring that request is the USD10.8 billion being proposed for the acquisition of two Virginia-class attack submarines (SSN 774...

HNLMS De Ruyter (F 804), 10.2013 (Michael Nitz - Naval Press Service)    The Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) third De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigate (luchtverdedigings en commandofregatten - LCF) HNLMS   De Ruyter  (F 804) is preparing to start its sea-acceptance tests (SATs) in late March, following the completion of a major maintenance and capability upgrade.     Under current timelines,   De Ruyter  is planned to be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2023, a DMO spokespe...

A file image of the Republic of Singapore Navy's Fearless-class patrol vessel, RSS   Independence  , while it was in service. The Royal Brunei Navy will soon operate two ex-Singapore Fearless-class vessels, which have been retired by Singapore and are being transferred to Brunei as a gift.  (Singapore Ministry of Defence)  The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) will soon operate two ex-Singapore Fearless-class patrol vessels that were formerly in service with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).  Janes  has learnt tha...

The IRGCN's converted container ship   Shahid Mahdavi  .  (IRNA)  Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) formally took delivery of over 80 vessels on 9 March, including the converted container ship Shahid Mahdavi (110-3) and a new high-speed air-defence vessel.  IRGCN Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri described Shahid Mahdavi as a multi-purpose long-range vessel that is fitted with a phased array radar and an advanced communications system. It can carry 41 tonnes of cargo that can include helicop...

UK Royal Navy commandos conduct cold weather training in the Arctic. (UK Royal Navy/Crown Copyright)  The UK has set up a military base in Northern Norway that will act as a hub for Royal Marines commandos operating in the region.  The purpose-built site, called Camp Viking, is located in Øverbygd, about 40 mile south of Tromsø, and will be used to support the UK's commando-led Littoral Response Group (LRG) (North), which is designed to operate alongside NATO and UK Joint Expeditionary Force partners in the High North and Baltic Sea regions....

India's Nirbhay cruise missile, displayed above at Defexpo 2020 in Lucknow, will be equipped with small turbofan engines, enhanced radio frequency seekers, and other subsystems to transform it into the proposed Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile. (Janes/Rahul Udoshi )  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently conducted a flight test of its Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the northeastern coast of Odisha.  The ITCM is a technology demonstrator pro...

A model of the Switchblade 300 loitering munition is displayed at the 2021 Association of the United States Army annual trade show in Washington, DC. (Janes)  Obtaining warheads for AeroVironment's Switchblade 300 and 600 tube-launched loitering missiles has become a “challenge”, because the Ukraine war has boosted demand for the explosive parts, according to the company's chief executive.  It will take time for warhead suppliers to increase production and for AeroVironment to develop alternative sources, AeroVironment chairman, president, an...

A Philippine Coast Guard boat sails past a China Coast Guard vessel during a 2019 encounter in the South China Sea. The PCG has recently reported the large presence of Chinese militia vessels in waters claimed by Manila. (TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images)  The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reported the presence of 42 Chinese maritime militia vessels in the vicinity of Thitu Island.  The vessels are accompanied by a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with pennant number 5302, and what is purportedly a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessel,...

An Ashwin AAD interceptor launched from Wheeler Island. (Government of India Press Information Bureau)  South Asia has traditionally been protected from neighbouring territorial conquests by a geological ‘Maginot Line' consisting of the Himalayas in its north and northeast and the Hindu Kush mountain range in the northwest.  In recent years, the vulnerability of the region – especially northern India – has been highlighted by tensions over territory and China's military modernisation. This escalating threat perception has prompted India and P...

The French Navy's first new BRF logistic support ship,   Jacques Chevallier  (A 725), started sea acceptance trials on 25 January.  (Naval Group)    Chantiers de l'Atlantique has delivered the first of four new batiments ravitailleurs de forces (BRF) logistic support ships (LSSs),   Jacques Chevallier  (A 725), to the French Navy.   Announcing the formal handover, which took place at Chantiers de l'Atlantique's shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on 3 March, the French Navy said the ship would depart fo...