Defense Equipment News

A specialist ship purchased by the U.K. Royal Navy to support mine-hunting operations has arrived in Plymouth.When deployed, the vessel will be based at Naval Base Clyde and used as a mother ship tp support the safeguarding of U.K. waters from the threat of mines at sea, operating a range of uncrewed systems that will help keep personnel at a safe distance under Project Wilton.Purchased from Norway's Island Offshore, the the 96.8-meter-long vessel – currently named Island Crown…

Earlier this year, a high-level defense event simply dubbed 'Industry Day' was held in Japan, an event aimed at strengthening the supply chain to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces equipment and strengthening Asia-Pacific Security and the Defense Industries.The event was significant in that the Japanese government has signaled its intention to increase defense spending, particularly with heightened tensions in the region from both China and North Korea. Also significant was the inclusion of U.S.

Marine Specialised Technology Group has launched the first in a series of new Police Patrol Craft being built for the UK Ministry of Defense Police (MDP) and the Gibraltar Ministry of Defense Police (GDP)Awarded in March 2021, The Police Patrol Craft (PPC) contract is a six-year program that will see delivery of 18 patrol craft to various Police units around the UK and Gibraltar. The Patrol Craft will be used to ensure protection of major Royal Naval Assets, including capital ships and submarines…

The U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has left Portsmouth en route to Rosyth where the £3 billion aircraft carrier will receive repairs after breaking down off the Isle of Wight in August.The 65,000-tonne warship will enter Babcock's dry dock in Rosyth where it will undergo repairs to its starboard propeller shaft which suffered a mechanical defect as the ship left for New York. Inspections by divers revealed the shaft coupling had failed. Since the aircraft carrier returned to Portsmouth Naval Base in early September…

The U.K. Royal Navy said it is testing a new crewless minehunter as part of its drive toward autonomous systems.Developed through a joint Anglo-French Maritime Mine Counter Measures program, the system is designed to detect the latest mine threats while reducing the risk to the lives of those searching for them. It comprises an uncrewed surface vessel, towed sonar and a portable operation center, and is now undergoing rigorous capability development trials.Demonstrators have been delivered to both the Royal and French Navies, the U.K.

A steel cutting ceremony was held for the U.K. Royal Navy's third Type 26 frigate, HMS Belfast, with all three of the first batch of City Class frigates now under construction.Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, set the plasma cutting machine to work on the first plate of steel at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Glasgow. The U.K.-sourced steel plate will form part of a unit which will contain the machinery space for the gearbox and stabilizers of HMS Belfast.Minister of State for Defense Baroness Goldie…

Marine Specialized Technology (MST) Group has been announced as the winner in a competitive tender process with the U.K. MOD Defense Equipment & Support Organization (DE&S) to supply 18 high-speed patrol craft to the U.K. Ministry of Defense Police (MDP) and Gibraltar Defense Police (GDP). The five year contract is worth £36 million ($50.4 millon).The vessels, designed by MST in partnership with BMT, will be 15 meters in length and powered by twin inboard diesel propulsion engines driving twin Marine Jet Power 350X waterjets waterjets.

As many maritime markets were challenged by COVID-19, Royal IHC, a Dutch maritime conglomerate and bellwether for the industry, reported its annual numbers indicated the smoke is clearing and a recovery is in sight.2020 will surely go down as a year many inside and out of the maritime industry will want to soon forget, and in releasing its annual figures Royal IHC noted that the first half of 2020 was dominated by refinancing and recapitalization, with COVID-19 having a "major impact" on order intakes throughout 2020.

Indonesia's president ordered an all-out effort to find a missing submarine in a race against time to save the 53 crew, whose oxygen supply defense chiefs said would last only until Saturday.Indonesia sent a helicopter and five ships to search waters north of the holiday island of Bali but found no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, which went missing early on Wednesday during a torpedo drill.“I have ordered the military chief, navy chief of staff, the search and rescue agency and other instances to deploy all the forces and the most optimal efforts to find and rescue the submarine crew…

The sailors aboard a missing Indonesian submarine have enough oxygen to last until Saturday, aboard a vessel that had been in good condition, the country's defense chiefs said on Thursday, as the search for the submarine continued.There were no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, with 53 crew aboard as of Thursday afternoon, where a search and rescue mission was ongoing in calm weather conditions.Yudo Margono, the navy chief of staff, said that there would be enough oxygen for the sailors to last until Saturday…

The U.K. Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has arrived in Glen Mallan, Scotland, as part of final preparations before her first operational deployment set to commence later this year.Sailing in along the Firth of Clyde, the 65,000-tonne warship has spent the last two weeks at sea testing and trialing her latest equipment, before berthing at the new Northern Ammunition Jetty for a routine onload of operational stores.HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first of the Royal Navy’s fleet to visit the new £64 million facility, built by the Defense Infrastructure Organization (DIO).

Royston has won a multimillion pound contract to support and maintain small diesel engines onboard amphibious assault ships, mine hunters and other Royal Navy vessels, the marine engineering and propulsion specialist said Wednesday.The £5.5 million ($7.2 million) five-year Ministry of Defense (MOD) contract will see U.K.-based Royston responsible for providing diesel engine spares and technical support alongside repair and refurbishment of engines when required.This will include various Caterpillar…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited US-based General Electric (GE) to manufacture ships in India claiming that the country offers immense opportunities for the ship-building sector. Pitching his government's 'Make in India' campaign, he pointed out that India is in a position to export marine defense equipment to other third world countries at cheaper-than-expected rates. GE currently manufactures equipment like engines, which are used in ships, but does not manufacture ships in India. Modi was inaugurating GE’s first-of-its-type multi-modal manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune. The new $200 million, 250,000 square feet GE plant will manufacture products to service four different industries – wind power generation, aviation, oil and gas and rail transportation.

L3 ASV has announced the successful delivery of a long-endurance autonomous vessel known as the C-Enduro to the Royal Navy. The C-Enduro will be used for military data gathering trials by the Mine countermeasures and Hydrographic Capability (MHC) program as the Navy seeks to exploit autonomous technology.The 4.8-meter autonomous vessel is equipped with 10 sensors combining scientific and hydrographic survey equipment. The vessel operates using L3 ASV’s proprietary control system…

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that DOT has awarded contracts with a total award value of $1.96 billion over eight years to seven U.S. maritime firms to manage, maintain and operate 48 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024. These Maritime Administration contracts are funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Sealift Fund to support DoD’s strategic sealift mission. “Since 1946, National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels have facilitated U.S. strategic sealift, natural disaster response, and humanitarian operations all around the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

SAFE Boats International has appointed Hartwell Champagne as its new Senior Vice President of Operations. Champagne joined SAFE Boats in 2013 and has been a key member of the company’s executive team. Prior to his new assignment, Champagne was the General Manager of the company’s Large Craft Production facility in Tacoma, Wash. where the U.S. Navy’s Mk VI Patrol Boats are manufactured. Hartwell has been part of the defense and government contracting industries almost the entirety of his career.

Japan and Indonesia are rolling out a high-level bilateral “maritime forum” to expand cooperation in ensuring security at sea. Japan will increase its assistance in building Indonesia’s port infrastructure and coast guard capabilities. The leaders of Japan and Indonesia would work together to maintain peace in the region at a time of tensions between China and its neighbors over maritime territorial disputes. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the two countries would collaborate on maritime security and increase trade. At a joint news conference after their meeting, Abe said he and Jokowi agreed to launch a forum to achieve an “open and stable” maritime environment through high-level talks between the two countries.

Throughout the history of naval warfare a consistent pattern has evolved between the development of anti-ship threats and the development of shipboard protective measures against those threats. Since the 1980’s, the combination of ship-board protective measures has been colloquially referred to as ‘survivability’ and is defined more precisely as the measure of a vessel’s ability to complete its mission after an attack. The measure of survivability considers one or more of the following aspects: susceptibility (the ability to avoid being hit)…

China appears to have largely completed major construction of military infrastructure on artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea and can now deploy combat planes and other military hardware there at any time, a U.S. think tank said on Monday. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the work on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly Islands included naval, air, radar and defensive facilities. The think tank cited satellite images taken this month, which its director, Greg Poling, said showed new radar antennae on Fiery Cross and Subi. "So look for deployments in the near future," he said. China has denied U.S. China's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak pledged to advance defense and maritime cooperation. It is the first time that Japan has agreed to start negotiations for cooperation on the transfer of defense equipment and technology with a member of the 10-nation ASEAN according to Japanese officials. Abe and Najib vowed to boost coordination in maritime security, with Abe backing Malaysia’s efforts in ensuring safety and security in the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, where Malaysia and some other Southeast Asian countries are locked in territorial disputes with China, according to the statement. "As a concrete step, we've agreed to cooperate in defense equipment.

By releasing video of Beijing's island reclamation work and considering more assertive maritime actions, the United States is signaling a tougher stance over the South China Sea and trying to spur Asian partners to more action. The release last week of the surveillance plane footage - showing dredgers and other ships busily turning remote outcrops into islands with runways and harbors - helps ensure the issue will dominate an Asian security forum starting on Friday attended by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter as well as senior Chinese military officials. As it pushes ahead with a military "pivot" to Asia partly aimed at countering China, Washington wants Southeast Asian nations to take a more united stance against China's rapid acceleration this year of construction on disputed reefs.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino agreed on Thursday to start negotiations on an accord for the transfer of defense equipment and technology, as the two nations bolster security ties amid heightened concerns over Beijing’s increasing assertiveness at sea, reports Reuters. The two leaders also shared “serious concern on unilateral actions to change the status quo in the South China Sea,” according to a joint declaration they issued after their summit talks, with China’s recent rapid and massive reclamation work in mind. China has become increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, building artificial islands in areas over which the Philippines and other countries have rival claims.

A report in the Economic Times say that Russia wants to make India a global hub for the upgrade, maintenance and repair of conventional submarines and its leading shipyard is in final talks to select an Indian joint venture partner for a mega project to set up facilities. India and Russia have already decided to accelerate bilateral civil nuclear energy cooperation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to take their strategic bilateral ties forward. "The Russian side is open to negotiations with Indian partners on various projects, including cooperation and JV [joint ventures] to manufacture modern defense equipment," said an official.