The Marine Protector-class patrol vessel GNS   Aflao  during its commissioning at Naval Base, Sekondi.  (Republic of Ghana Presidency)  Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo commissioned four new naval vessels on 9 September, according to a statement released by the president's office.    The president did not identify the vessels, but his office released photographs showing two 27 m-long Marine Protector-class patrol vessels called GNS   Half Assini  (P 44) and GNS   Aflao  (P 45) and two...

The deployable variant of Saab's Giraffe 1X radar displayed at DSEI 2023, which has been acquired by the UK military. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Saab has launched a deployable variant of its Giraffe 1X 3D radar at DSEI 2023, held from 12 to 15 September in London.  Known as the Deployable Set, the new configuration is designed as a compact, robust, and highly deployable radar that can be easily transported and quickly set up.  A key difference with the deployable variant is its ability to operate on the move when deployed on naval vessels or land...

The Promas integrated propeller and rudder system. (Kongsberg Maritime)  Kongsberg Maritime has started marketing its Promas propulsion system to navies after concluding research that demonstrated it could deliver fuel savings, greater range, and improved manoeuvrability for naval platforms.  Promas, which was originally designed for commercial ships, combines the rudder and propeller into one unit to make the transition of water streamlined. Most naval twin-screw vessels use conventional rudder and propeller systems placed off-centre from th...

The US Army's LRHW could be delayed in fielding because of a recent flight cancellation. (US Navy)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) cancelled a flight test scheduled for the US Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) on 6 September, the Pentagon told reporters on 7 September.    The flight test scheduled at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, was cancelled after undergoing pre-flight checks, DoD Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. The army declined to confirm if the cancellation would push the army over th...

The US Navy installed a 3D printer on the amphibious assault ship USS   Bataan   in November 2022.  (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) is striving to bolster the use of additive manufacturing (AM) in shipbuilding and ship repairs, according to Rear Admiral Jason Lloyd, chief engineer and deputy commander for Ship Design, Integration and Naval Engineering at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).  “We have a national imperative to make additive manufacturing an interchangeable process for other types of manufacturing,” Rear...

A TV screen at a railway station in Seoul shows an image of the launch of North Korea's new ‘tactical nuclear attack submarine'. (Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)  North Korea has unveiled a new “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on 8 September.  The submarine was launched and handed over to the Korean People's Navy (KPN) on 6 September in a ceremony at the Sinpo shipyard on the country's northeast coast that marked the country's 75th founding anniversary and was...

MBDA Common Anti-air Modular Missile on display at MSPO 2023. (Janes/Neil Dee)  The Polish Navy's future Miecznik (Project 106)-class frigates will receive the medium-range (MR) version of MBDA's Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) once developed, it has been confirmed.  The plan for the Mieczniks to receive the CAMM-MR forms part of an announcement of a letter of intent signed on 6 September between MBDA and the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) to co-operate in the development of the CAMM-MR. The MR version is being...

With three large, vertically placed displays, the Future Operator Workspace provides a clear and distinct presentation of the tactical and operational environment. The 27.6 inch central display shows the tactical situation, while the side 21.9 inch side displays are used for presenting information and data. (Saab)  Saab will display for the first time a prototype of its new ‘Future Operator Workspace' concept at the DSEI 2023 exhibition, to be held in London from 12 to 15 September.  The company describes the new operator combat console as a...

Submarine-launched Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile model and the TKMS Type 212CD submarine model on display at MSPO 2023. (Janes/Neil Dee)    German shipyard Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is planning to potentially pitch its Type 212 Common Design (CD) submarine for the Polish Navy's ‘Orka' submarine programme,   Janes  has learned.     Speaking to   Janes  at the MSPO 2023 exhibition in Kielce, Poland, a source from TKMS noted the shipyard's interest in the programme, which is to replace the Polish Nav...

Kongsberg NSM CDS on display at MSPO 2023. (Janes/Neil Dee)  Kongsberg has been awarded a contract worth around NOK16 billion (USD1.5 billion) to deliver four additional Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Coastal Defence System (CDS) squadrons to Poland, the largest single contract in Kongsberg's history. The contract was approved at the MSPO 2023 defence exhibition in Kielce, Poland, by Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda. Pending confirmation of export financing for the contract, de...

Arrowhead 140 is the largest of the three designs being considered for the UK's Type 31e general purpose frigate requirement. (Babcock)  The Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the Indonesian Navy have reached an impasse over the ‘Red White' frigate programme's combat systems.  At the centre of the impasse is the defence ministry's insistence that the frigates be equipped with a Turkish combat management system (CMS) instead of a Thales-supplied one as originally planned, separate industry sources have confirmed to Janes.  The MoD signed...

One of the second pair of Island-class cutters is pictured arriving at Salamis Naval Base on 1 September. (Hellenic Navy)  The Hellenic Navy has taken delivery of its second pair of ex-US Coast Guard (USCG) Island-class cutters and a fourth multimission support ship.  The three ships arrived at Salamis Naval Base on 1 September, the Hellenic Navy announced the same day.  The Hellenic Navy acquired the four ex-Island-class cutters via the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency's Office of International Acquisition's Excess Defense Articles (ED...

The main US naval ship designated for Arctic research,   Healy,  is now being used to test new 3D printing equipment in that region.  (Michael Fabey)  Researchers from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) will test Amos01 3D printer operations for the first time in the Arctic on an icebreaker during a seven-week Arctic transit aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Healy (WAGB 20) icebreaker, US Navy (USN) officials confirmed on 30 August.  US naval forces have been increasing their ability to 3D print parts on...

HMS   Queen Elizabeth  was involved in a collective synthetic training demonstration orchestrated by BAE Systems, Inzpire, and QinetiQ.  (BAE Systems)    The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) aircraft carrier HMS   Queen Elizabeth  as well as Type 23 frigate HMS   Kent  and Type 45 destroyer HMS   Diamond  participated in a collective synthetic training demonstration against a peer adversary as part of Phase 2 of the RN's Platform Enabled Training Capability (PETC).   Conducted at H...

Topaz Tangaroa  is being converted into the first of two planned Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships for underwater surveillance and seabed warfare to be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.  (Royal Navy)  Danish offshore engineering and survey company Eiva has been contracted to supply a containerised Remotely Operated Towed Vehicle (ROTV) system for operation from the UK's new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Seabed Warfare platform.  A contract between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – through Navy Command Commercial – an...

Switzerland's Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sports received a remote-controlled mine-clearing vehicle on 29 August from the Digger Foundation for delivery to Ukraine. (DDPS)  Switzerland's Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sports (DDPS) announced in a press release on 29 August that it had received a tracked remote-controlled mine-clearing vehicle the same day from Digger Foundation, a Swiss-based non-profit organisation (NPO), for delivery to Ukraine. Developed and produced by Digger, the vehicle can...

The Peregrine UAS, which comprises a Schiebel S-100 Camcopter and a Thales I-Master radar, will be deployed onboard an RN Type 23 frigate in the Gulf from 2024. (Schiebel)  Thales and Schiebel have successfully completed factory acceptance testing (FAT) of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Peregrine Camcopter S-100 rotary-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) integrated with Thales l-Master radar.  Announcing the milestone on 30 August, the two companies said the FAT approval marked an important step towards final delivery of the Camcopter S-100 UAS P...

The Indian Army is procuring 130 tethered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 19 simulators for training tank drivers, industry sources have disclosed to Janes.  Bangalore-based NewSpace Research and Technologies Pvt Ltd (NRT) secured a contract wo...

The US Navy plans to replace Zumwalt-class destroyers' Advanced Gun Systems with hypersonic missile launching systems. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) on 29 August awarded HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division a USD154.8 million contract modification for the modernisation of USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), HII officials confirmed.  Zumwalt arrived in Pascagoula on 19 August after transiting from San Diego, California, HII said. The ship's modernisation at the yard will include technology upgrades and the integration of the Conventional Prompt...

A deployed Maverick M8 radar developed by Silentium Defence. Silentium will collaborate with Lockheed Martin to deliver undisclosed variants from its Maverick suite of radars for Australia's Joint Air Battle Management System. (Silentium Defence)  Adelaide-based Silentium Defence will supply its passive radar sensors for Australia's Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) being developed under Project Air 6500 Phase 1.  Silentium's chief technology officer Simon Palumbo told Janes on 30 August that the company will provide “multiple varia...