Defense Systems News

Israel's military said it had intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" on Friday off the northern port city of Haifa amid high tension along its frontier with Lebanon.The seaports of Haifa and Ashdod are crucial gateways for Israel's trade.An Israeli military spokesperson said the target had not caused any damage or injuries."I cannot confirm exactly how close it was to the port, but the fact that, according to protocol, no sirens were sounded means that it was far enough," the spokesperson said, declining to say whether the target or its source had been identified.In December, the Israeli mil

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

Russian air strikes on Ukrainian grain facilities on the Danube this week threaten a vital river route for Kyiv's exports, as Moscow seeks to tighten the noose around a key sector of the economy days after abandoning the Black Sea shipping deal.Last week, air strikes caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to the grain sector in Odesa region, and Monday's strikes on infrastructure along the Danube brought back memories of the export gridlock that followed Russia's February 2022 invasion."Without the Danube, the export (situation) becomes critical.

Moises DelToro at GE Vernova’s Power Conversion business, discusses how deploying a Ship’s Electric Grid is a flexible way to accommodate growing energy demands for naval and coast guard vessels.A new age of electrificationWe’re in a new naval era and it is reshaping views about fleet mixes and capabilities. Modern fleets need to be mission-configurable, highly capable for military advantage, adaptable for technology insertion, but still affordable. The growing demand for vessel power is increasingly an enabler for mission systems, not just for platform propulsion.

In the early morning hours of September 26, 2022, seismologists located throughout northern Europe detected two disturbances originating in the Baltic Sea that were consistent with underwater explosions. Within hours, an aerial image captured by a passing Danish F-16 showed an expanse of frothy seawater, suggesting that the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines had experienced a catastrophic event. Within days, an investigation by the Swedish Security Service concluded that both pipelines had sustained extensive damage due to an act of gross sabotage.

Russian missiles hit Ukraine's southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a deal signed just a day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike blatant "barbarism" showing Moscow could not be trusted to implement the deal. However, public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not caused significant…

Fincantieri-led consortium Raggruppamento Temporaneo di Impresa (RTI) has won a contract to build a second Logistic Support Ship (LSS) for the Italian Navy, which also includes the option for a third ship.The consortium signed the contract with OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement) the international organization for joint armament cooperation.The LSS will be fully built at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard in Italy, with delivery scheduled for 2025. The value of the contract is around  410 million euros ($462,3 million) including the combat system.

A U.S. naval command ship entered the Black Sea on Thursday as part of NATO maneuvers that drew a warm welcome from Ukraine but close scrutiny from the Russian navy. The U.S. navy said the Mount Whitney was in the region to conduct routine maritime operations with NATO allies and partners. The Black Sea - in particular the area near the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - is a sensitive security zone for Moscow. "The forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet have started monitoring the actions of the Mount Whitney command ship…

Russia's Black Sea naval forces practiced destroying enemy targets on Tuesday as Moscow bristled at the presence of two U.S. warships in the area.President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces could observe the USS Mount Whitney navy command ship "through binoculars or in the crosshairs of its ... defense systems" and complained about NATO activity near Russia's borders.On Tuesday, the Black Sea fleet said its ships had rehearsed destroying enemy targets and that their air defense systems had been put on alert at its bases in Novorossiysk and on annexed Crimea…

Serco Canada Marine (Serco) has received Approval in Principle from Lloyd's Register (LR) for its Atlas 120 Frigate design.The Atlas 120 Light Frigate is a modern general-purpose surface combatant that spans 120 meters in length. The ship can accommodate almost all standard NATO missile munitions and the Hangar and Flight Deck have been sized to accommodate all NATO medium lift naval helicopters. The ship has a broad range of passive and active self-defense systems to protect the ship from all directions.

The Italian Navy has taken delivery of the newly built logistics support ship LSS Vulcano from Fincantieri's Naval Integrated shipyard in Muggiano, Italy.The 193-meter LSS Vulcano is part of the FLOTLOG (Flotte Logistique) program, which includes the construction of four LSS destined to the French Navy, by the temporary consortium between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group under the Italian-French LSS Program led by OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation). The construction of the forward sections of these ships has been commissioned to Fincantieri…

The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of its first Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) on April 24 following Combat Systems Activation.The ship will transition to the next phase of developmental and integrated at-sea testing. This event marks a major milestone of the dual delivery approach for USS Zumwalt, which achieved Hull Mechanical & Electrical delivery from shipbuilder General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works in May 2016. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems was the prime contractor for the Zumwalt Combat System…

North Vancouver shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards on Thursday held a keel laying ceremony for the Royal Canadian Navy’s future joint support ship HMCS Protecteur.Scheduled for 2023 delivery, the newbuild is the first of two joint support ships to be constructed by Seaspan as part Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). With a length of 173.7 meters and a breath of 24 meters, the vessel will be the largest naval ship by length ever built in Canada.“Today’s keel-laying ceremony represents another milestone in our commitment to provide modern…

The United States on Friday announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the Middle East, describing it as an effort to bolster defenses against Iran as it accused the country's Revolutionary Guards of direct responsibility for this month's tanker attacks.President Donald Trump's administration also invoked the threat from Iran to declare a national security-related emergency that would clear the sale of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries without required congressional approval.The actions were the latest by the Trump administration as it highlights what it sees as a threat of potential attack by Iran…

President Vladimir Putin calls improving the Russian navy's combat capabilities a priority.The unfinished husks of three guided-missile frigates that have languished for three years at a Baltic shipyard show that is easier said than done.Earmarked for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the frigates fell victim to sanctions imposed by Ukraine in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, prompting Kiev to ban the sale of the Ukrainian-made engines needed to propel them.With Moscow unable to quickly build replacement engines for the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, construction stopped.

The U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. The document presents Richardson’s priorities with four “lines of effort” to strengthen naval power at and from the sea; achieve high velocity learning at every level; strengthen our Navy team for the future’ and expand and strengthen our network of partners. It isn’t an earth-shattering document, and perhaps is most telling for what it doesn’t say, as opposed to what is says. The document makes a strong case for forward presence, which has been the raison d’etre for the U.S. Navy for decades.

SAFE Boats International announced that Retired Vice Admiral William E. “Bill” Landay III has been appointed as a Director of the Board at SAFE Boats International. Vice Admiral Landay retired in 2013 after more than 35 years of naval service. His final assignment was as Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) from August 2010 until September 2013. DSCA oversees the U.S. Government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and is responsible for the sale of arms, defense technologies, training and other services to foreign governments.

The launching ceremony of the bow section of the LSS logistic support unit Vulcano, took place at the shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia (Naples) in the presence of the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti. The unit was ordered to Fincantieri within the renewal plan of the Italian Navy’s fleet. Godmother of the ceremony was Maria Teresa Piras, widow of the vessel tenant Emilio Attramini, young Italian Navy Officer, who died in 1977 in the air disaster of the Monte Serra.

Russia could supply air defence systems and other equipment to the Indian Vikrant-class aircraft carrier currently under construction, says a report by IANS. The first of the Vikrant-class aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya, is Russian-built. The second vessel of the class, INS Vikrant, is set to become Indias first indigenous carrier. However, according to Viktor Kladov,  the head of Russian conglomerate Rostec, India still needs Russia’s technical assistance in various aspects of the INS Vikrant project. “Guidance systems, air defense systems, as well as various systems of airborne weaponry, including anti-aircraft, could be supplied on board the aircraft carrier.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox, Inc. said that William E. "Bill" Landay III, President of W.E. LANDAY Consulting LLC, has been elected to its Board of Directors effective June 20, 2017. "[VADM Landay’s] expertise in the areas of foreign military sales, DoD acquisition, and science and technology programs will be a tremendous addition to the future growth of Gibbs & Cox," said President and Chief Executive Chris Deegan. Vice Admiral Landay retired in 2013 after more than 35 years of Naval service. His final assignment was as Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) where he was in charge of the $400 billion DoD program responsible for the sale of equipment, defense technologies, training and other services to foreign governments.

A keel laying ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Riva Trigoso (Sestri Levante, Genoa) for a Logistic Support Ship (LSS), as construction work continues on the first unit of the Italian Navy’s fleet renewal plan, which has been commissioned to Fincantieri. The vessel will be delivered in 2019. The LSS is a vessel that provides logistics support to the fleet, endowed with hospital and healthcare capabilities thanks to the presence of a fully equipped hospital, complete with operating rooms…

Commissioning and sea-trials have been completed for Canada’s first Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship, Asterix, the first new naval support ship to enter service with the Royal Canadian Navy in more than five decades. The ship, which is also the first large naval platform to be delivered from a Canadian shipyard in over 20 years and the first naval ship to be delivered since the launch of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, was delivered on time, to budget and at an internationally competitive cost…

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