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Weapons Systems News

08 Mar 2024

Babcock Delivers Refitted HMS St. Albans to Royal Navy Ahead of Schedule

HMS St. Albans (Credit: Babcock International)

Defense company Babcock International has delivered Type 23 frigate HMS St. Albans back to the Royal Navy for sea trials three months ahead of the planned schedule, following a refit operation.Once the current sea trials are completed, HMS St. Albans, with her 178-strong crew, will return to sea as the most advanced, equipped, and capable Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy’s fleet, boasting next-generation weapons systems and radar, according to Babcock.During her time in dock…

25 Sep 2023

Taiwan Expects to Deploy Two New Submarines by 2027

© Norman Chan / Adobe Stock

Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles, to strengthen deterrence against the Chinese navy and protect key supply lines, the head of the program said.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous sub program a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.President Tsai Ing-wen…

23 Mar 2023

Uncrewed Boats Are Changing the Way Wars Are Fought at Sea

An L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 unmanned surface vessel sails behind Royal Bahrain Naval Force missile corvette RBNS Al Muharraq (P 51) during a vessel boarding drill in the Arabian Gulf during exercise Neon Defender, Jan. 22. (Photo: Anita Chebahtah / U.S. Navy)

When Ukraine successfully deployed self-driving “drone” boats for a major attack on the Russian navy at Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2022 it was a defining moment that changed the future of naval warfare. Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have been used before, but this was the first instance of multiple, armed USVs, used simultaneously in combination with aerial drones for a successful, offensive naval operation on a military target.Several Russian ships were damaged in the attack…

06 Jan 2023

What’s Next for Eastern Shipbuilding?

(Credit: Eastern Shipbuilding Group)

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

28 Jun 2022

US Supplying Ukraine with Over 20 Metal Shark Military Vessels

(Photo: Metal Shark)

The United States is providing Ukraine with a range of defense articles, including 23 welded-aluminum military vessels built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark, to help Ukraine to better protect its coastline, waterways and ports.Last week it was announced that six of the U.S. Navy’s new 40 PB maritime combat vessels would be sent to Ukraine as part of a $450 million security assistance package. Built by Metal Shark and delivered to the Navy in 2021 as part of a currently active defense contract for 50 vessels…

16 Jun 2022

Updates, Developments and Advances in Combat and Patrol Craft

SBI completed an order last December for 52 Coastal Interceptor Vessels for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Photo: SAFE Boats)

My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

09 Jun 2021

The Navy’s Big Fleet of Small Boats

The U.S. Navy’s Mark VI class patrol boat is designed to patrol riverine and littoral waters around the globe. (Photo: Nelson Doromal Jr / U.S. Navy)

The Navy is known for its big ships. It has a lot of smaller boats and craft, too—3,200 of them.The three primary stakeholders for these craft are the Surface Fleet, Commander Navy Installations Command and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Other stakeholders include Submarine Forces; Air Forces (which own the aircraft carriers); Naval Special Warfare; the Coast Guard; Naval Facilities Command and the Naval Warfare Centers.Boats and craft are procured and managed by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Program Executive Office for Ships (PEO Ships)…

18 Mar 2020

Combat Systems Installed on Indonesian Frigate

(Photo: Damen)

Combat systems were recently installed and tested aboard the second of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence’s SIGMA 10514 Perusak Kawal Rudal (PKR) guided missile frigates, the KRI Gusti Ngurah Rai (332).The PKR frigates are constructed via a modular process operating simultaneously at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in the Netherlands and the PT PAL shipyard in Indonesia.This method, which allows the Damen Shipyards Group to build vessels anywhere in the world, enables…

19 Dec 2019

USN’s Next-Gen Patrol Boat Near End of OT&E

Photo: Metal Shark

Shipbuilder Metal Shark and the US Navy are nearing the end of the operational test and evaluation (OT&E) trial period for the Navy’s incoming standardized “40 PB” patrol boat platform.Developed as the replacement for up to 160 patrol vessels deployed worldwide with Navy Expeditionary Combat Command’s Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF), Metal Shark’s 40 Defiant design was selected in late 2017 from a field of seven competing shipbuilders.Metal Shark produced two of the 40-foot, welded-aluminum monohull pilothouse patrol boats for test and evaluation purposes…

18 Dec 2019

Risk & Reward of The Internet of (Maritime) Things

Copyright: THATREE/AdobeStock

The Internet of Maritime Things (IoMT) is coming! Start planning now.The Internet of Things (IoT) is already with us. You can get a doorbell camera that allows you to see on your smartphone who is at or approaching your front door. You can also get a refrigerator that keeps track of items inside and will advise you when you are running low (maybe on beer). It can also automatically place orders with your local grocery store for replenishment. Your automobile will attempt to keep you in your lane and avoid collisions while keeping track of where you are…

29 Oct 2019

USS John S. McCain Repairs Completed

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) (U.S. Navy photo)

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) completed her necessary repairs and extensive, accelerated upgrades over the last two years, following a fatal 2017 collision.The ship and her crew, now underway to conduct comprehensive at sea testing, will perform a series of demonstrations to evaluate onboard systems to ensure they meet or exceed Navy performance specifications. Among the systems that will be tested are navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical systems…

21 Feb 2019

Russia Struggles to Modernize its Navy

Yaroslav Mudry. Photo from kaliningrad.kp.ru

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.

06 Jan 2019

Taiwan: Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Bags CGA Ship Order

The construction of a 600-tonne Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol ship by  the Taiwan-based shipbuilding company Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Corporation (JSSC) began in Kaohsiung.An official statement from Taiwan coast guard said that the ship is the first of a dozen to be produced by the company for the agency.According to Taipei Times, CGA Fleet Branch head Hsieh Ching-chin and JSSC Chairman Han Pi-hsiang presided over the initiation ceremony Friday to mark the start of the ship's construction.The report quoted Hsieh saying that the construction of the patrol ship symbolized a new milestone in the country's shipbuilding capabilities…

08 Nov 2018

BREAKING: Tanker, Frigate Collision Shuts Down Norwegian Oil, Gas to Europe

Sinking frigate (screenshot of NRK streaming coverage at https://www.nrk.no/. NRK is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company)

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital…

09 Apr 2018

Naval Group Names Dupont Director, International Trade

François Dupont (Photo: Naval Group)

With effect on 2 April, François Dupont is appointed Director of the International Trade department at Naval Group. He will oversee all the areas in which Naval Group has prospective customers. He reports to Alain Guillou, Executive Vice President, Development. International development represents a major challenge for Naval Group, whose international sales should represent 50% of its revenues by 2020, compared to a third currently. François Dupont joined Naval Group at the age…

14 Mar 2018

US Navy Submarines Surface in the Arctic Circle

A pair of U.S. Navy submarines recently surfaced in the Arctic Circle as part of multinational maritime exercise north of Alaska. Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) and Seawolf-class fast attack submarine, USS Connecticut (SSN 22) surfaced in the Arctic Circle March 10 during the multinational maritime Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. Both submarines, as well the UK Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant (S91), are participating in the biennial exercise in the Arctic to train and validate the warfighting capabilities of submarines in extreme cold-water conditions. "From a military, geographic and scientific perspective…

13 Mar 2018

Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz Enters Drydock

Sailors and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS-IMF) workers shift the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) from its homeport pier in Bremerton, Wash., to a dry dock in PSNS-IMF. (U.S. Navy photo by Ian Kinkead)

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) entered dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton site, March 1, as part of the ship's scheduled 15-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) period following a six month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets. Nimitz will receive upgrades and renovations to a variety of systems to include steering components, hull preservation, combat systems equipment, aircraft elevator doors, berthing areas and a new stern dock.

02 Oct 2017

Metal Shark Wins USN PB(X) Contract

In order to fully optimize the hull and propose a more mature design, Metal Shark built a PBX running prototype hull, designated PB(X)-P1, which was extensively tested in a wide range of operating conditions. (Photo: Metal Shark)

Metal Shark won the contract to produce the U.S. Navy’s next-generation patrol boat, the PB(X), the replacement for the fleet of force protection boats currently in use with Navy Expeditionary Combad Command’s Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF). Subject to annual appropriations, the Navy intends to replace approximately 100 to 160 of its existing 25-ft. and 34-ft. CRF patrol boats with the larger and more modern PB(X) platform over the next 15 years. The Navy has placed an initial, immediate order for eleven of the new vessels.

21 Aug 2017

India Commissions Second Landing Craft Utility Vessel

Indian Navy commissioned LCU L52 - a landing craft - which will be deployed for a variety of activities including transporting battle tanks and other heavy weapons systems. "Dr. Jagdish Mukhi, Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, commissioned IN LCU L52 into the Indian Navy on 21 August 2017 at Port Blair. IN LCU L52 is the second Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy," said a press release from the Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. The commissioning of L-52 is yet another manifestation of the potential of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability.

03 Apr 2017

NUWC Division, Newport Signs EPA with New Bedford Whaling Museum

Capt. Michael R. Coughlin, commanding officer of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Newport, and James Russell, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM), signed an education partnership agreement (EPA) for undersea acoustic research during a brief ceremony on Friday, March 31. Under the EPA, NUWC Newport will provide research, expertise, and material on the Navy's historic and current role in marine mammal research in conjunction with the museum’s recently acquired collection of historic marine mammal recordings, photographs and collection equipment. The William A. Watkins Collection of Marine Mammal Sound Recordings and the William E.

01 Mar 2017

Is Beijing Outflanking the US in the South China Sea?

USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) (U.S. Navy photo by Nathan K. Serpico)

For much of the last week, the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson has been patrolling the South China Sea. It is just the kind of display of Washington’s power and global reach that the U.S. Navy excels at – both to reassure allies and, in this case, send a message to potential foes. How much longer Washington will be able to perform such operations unchallenged, however, is an increasingly open question. Some military experts project that within a little more than a decade, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy may have more warships than Washington under its command.

06 Feb 2017

China Welcomes Mattis' South China Sea Diplomacy

China on Monday welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' suggestion that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea, and that major U.S. military action was not being considered to contend with China's assertive behaviour there. Mattis, speaking in Tokyo on Saturday, blamed China for "shredding the trust of nations in the region", but also played down any need for U.S. military manoeuvres in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and instead called for open lines of communication. The comments, his most complete on the issue to date, came after analysts had said other remarks made by President Donald Trump's administration had suggested the possibility of U.S. military action, or even a naval blockade.

24 Jan 2017

China to Protect South China Sea Sovereignty

China said on Tuesday it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House vowed to defend "international territories" in the strategic waterway. White House spokesman Sean Spicer in his comments on Monday signaled a sharp departure from years of cautious U.S. handling of China's assertive pursuit of territorial claims in Asia. "The U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," Spicer said when asked if Trump agreed with comments by his secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson. On Jan. 11, Tillerson said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.