Navy News

Italy’s Fincantieri will lead the upgrade of the PPA-class multipurpose combat ships to a full combat system configuration under a new contract.The agreement, signed with the European defense procurement agency OCCAR, covers the integration of advanced capabilities into vessels currently in service and under construction.Fincantieri is part of a temporary consortium with Leonardo, with its share of the contract valued at about $73 million (€62 million).The work includes upgrading vessels from ‘Light’ and ‘Light Plus’ configurations to a ‘Full Combat System’ configuration…

Saildrone has announced its newest platform, Spectre. At 52 meters (170 feet) long, weighing 250 tonnes, and capable of up to 30 knots, Spectre is a high-endurance USV designed to deliver multi-mission effects above and below the surface. Spectre’s design is engineered from the keel up for long-range, quiet, persistent operations.Spectre is Saildrone’s largest, fastest, and most capable platform to date.The US Navy is facing unprecedented challenges in maintaining maritime superiority across numerous regional hotspots simultaneously, says the company.

The Australian government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have concluded a contract for the construction of three upgraded Mogami-class frigates for Australia's General Purpose Frigate (GPF) program.In August 2025, the Australian government selected MHI's upgraded Mogami-class frigate (4,800 ton type) as the preferred platform to proceed to the next stage in the selection process for the country's GPF program.Construction will begin at MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works in cooperation with the Australian government…

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greece next week to renew a security pact between the two countries against the backdrop of the war in Iran, a Greek government official said on Sunday.France and Greece, long-standing NATO allies, signed a security and defense agreement in 2021, which required them to come to each other's aid if attacked and included the purchase of three French-made frigates and around 24 Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets by Athens.Macron's visit to Greece on April 24-25 will renew the agreement for a further five years, with an automatic renewal thereafter, th

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) has introduced AutoHook, a first-of-its-kind fully autonomous vessel recovery interface developed by FMD’s Norway-based business, Vestdavit. AutoHook is designed for fully autonomous launch and recovery systems (LARS) supporting unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and other assets requiring zero human intervention. The compact, lightweight form factor is designed for interoperability across allied fleets in demanding maritime conditions, removing the…

North Korea conducted another test-fire of strategic cruise missiles and anti-warship missiles on Sunday as part of operational efficiency trials of its destroyer Choe Hyon, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.Leader Kim Jong Un observed the test alongside senior defence officials and naval commanders, the report said.Two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-warship missiles were fired to check the warship's integrated weapons command system, train crews in missile-launch procedures and verify the accuracy and anti-jamming performance of upgraded navigation systems, KCNA said.The cruise missi

The Spanish shipyard C.N.P. FREIRE, S.A. (Freire Shipyard) held the launch ceremony of the diving support vessel, hull number 739, built for the Armada Logistics Support Command: A22 Proserpina in Vigo. Delivery is scheduled for later this year.The ceremony was presided over by the shipyard's General Managers, Marcos and Guillermo Freire, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Armada (AJEMA), His Excellency Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez. Also in attendance were civil and military authorities.

Pakistan said its navy had rescued and evacuated 18 crew members of a merchant vessel operating in the North Arabian sea after a distress call.The rescued crew members of the vessel, GOLD AUTUMN, who included nationals of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, were safely transported to Karachi for medical care and repatriation, a statement from Pakistan's military said.(Reuters)

Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, Defence Minister John Healey said on Thursday.Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try to conduct the covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.Healey said British forces and allies including Norway tracked and deterred malign activity by the Russian vessels…

Kongsberg Maritime has signed a contract to supply 18 large Kamewa waterjets for the Indian Navy’s Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) program. Each of the vessels will feature waterjets, delivering speed and maneuverability for high-performance naval operations.The NGMV fleet is being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited and will play a critical role in India’s maritime defense strategy.This contract marks Kongsberg Maritime’s largest single waterjet order to date and signals a…

France's new aircraft carrier will be named France Libre (Free France), President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, as Paris advances its 10.2 billion euro ($12 billion) program to replace its ageing nuclear-powered flagship Charles de Gaulle.The warship is central to France's nuclear deterrent and Europe's bid for more defence autonomy, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump urged NATO allies to shoulder more of their own defence burden.Macron announced the name Free…

Several U.S. allies rebuffed Donald Trump's call on Monday to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the U.S. president, who accused Western partners of ingratitude after decades of support.The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week with no end in sight. The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow, remains largely closed off, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.The conflict has already imposed economic costs on U.S.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic.With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait."I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory…

Warship builder TKMS has submitted a non-binding offer along with Norway for a multi-billion-dollar submarine contract from Canada, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.The offer consists of around 1,500 pages and is supported by the governments of both countries.TKMS is one of two companies shortlisted by Canada to supply up to twelve modern submarines. Its competitor is Hanwha Ocean 042660.KS from South Korea.A decision is expected in the middle of the year.TKMS has…

France is deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict in the Middle East.Speaking in Cyprus before visiting the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which arrived this weekend in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure his Cypriot counterpart after drones were intercepted heading towards the island last week."When Cyprus is attacked…

Pakistan's navy has launched a maritime security operation to protect shipping lanes and energy supplies as regional tensions threaten key sea routes, the military said on Monday.The operation, named Muhafiz-ul-Bahr – meaning Protector of the Seas – aims to safeguard "lines of communication" at sea and ensure uninterrupted maritime trade and national energy supplies, the military's media wing said in a statement.

The U.S. is pressing Sri Lanka not to repatriate the survivors from an Iranian warship it sank this week or the crew of a second Iranian ship that is in Sri Lankan custody, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.A U.S. submarine sank the frigate Dena in the Indian Ocean about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka's southern port city of Galle on Wednesday, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.On Thursday…

Sri Lanka started to offload 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel off its coast on Thursday, a day after 87 people were killed and several others were still missing after a U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the same region."After detailed discussions with all parties, Sri Lanka has decided to assist the Iranian vessel," Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a press briefing in Colombo.The crew being offloaded included 53 officials, 84 cadets, 48 senior sailors and 23 sailors, Dissanayake said.

Kongsberg Discovery has launched two new variants of its EM2042 multibeam echosounder, extending high-resolution seabed mapping capabilities to deep-rated subsea vehicles and naval operations.The new EM2042 DR600 and EM2042 BNS build on the existing EM2042 platform and its next-generation acoustic architecture, targeting deepwater unmanned platforms and defense environments, respectively.The EM2042 DR600 is engineered for underwater vehicles including autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), remotely operated towed vehicles (ROTVs) and submarines.

Italy’s Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly coordinate and execute the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) program, strengthening industrial cooperation under one of Europe’s most ambitious defense initiatives.The two shipbuilders plan to create a joint venture to manage and execute the program. The vehicle will be open to participation from other project partners, with incorporation subject to the finalization of transaction documents…

The diplomatic route in Iran is now exhausted, as last night the United States and Israel attacked Iran, sharply escalating security risks for commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters, prompting immediate operational and insurance repercussions across the global maritime sector.According to Jakob Larsen, Chief Safety & Security Officer at BIMCO, the attacks “dramatically increase the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters,” particularly for vessels with business ties to U.S.

President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France was sending its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean and working to build a coalition that would help secure maritime traffic imperiled by the escalating crisis in the Middle East.In a televised address to the nation, Macron said that action needed to be taken with the Straits of Hormuz closed and the Suez Canal and Red Sea shipping routes threatened by the widening conflict."We have economic interests to protect…

Spanish shipbuilder C.N.P. Freire has signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to construct four naval support vessels.The 47-meter vessels will be designed for naval support missions and built to operate in harsh weather and ice conditions. Each ship will accommodate 16 crew members, reach speeds of up to 12 knots and have an endurance of up to 10 days.The vessels will be equipped with two main cranes on the main deck and an auxiliary crane for supplies, enabling autonomous loading and unloading operations.