Defense Systems News

Ventus Industrial Partners, a US-based private equity firm specializing in sectors critical to national security, announced the formation of Aeron Defense and the acquisitions of General Tool Company (GTC) and Magna Machine Company, in partnership with GenNx360 Capital Partners and Admiralty Partners.GTC and Magna were founded together by the Kramer family and are reuniting under the GTC name. Magna has expertise in large-part machining and turnkey large functional assemblies and will become GTC’s fourth manufacturing site.

Italy’s Fincantieri has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Aeronautical Service, a small and medium-sized enterprise specializing in aerospace solutions, to advance the use of carbon-based composite materials in naval shipbuilding.The agreement aims to introduce composite technologies across civil and military platforms, reducing reliance on steel and extending Fincantieri’s technological perimeter into high-performance and stealth applications.The companies plan to collaborate on developing a new high-speed Fast Patrol Boat (FPB) vessel…

South Korean defense, shipbuilding and energy solutions provider Hanwha Group has appointed Alex Wong as Global Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to lead the company's strategic initiatives in international markets.In this newly created role based in Washington, D.C., Wong will spearhead Hanwha's efforts to deepen partnerships, build defense capabilities, and accelerate reindustrialization in key markets, particularly in the United States and Europe.Wong brings deep experience in national security and international diplomacy. He most recently served in the White House as Principal Deputy U.S.

Cerberus Capital Management has entered a strategic partnership with HD Hyundai to launch a new maritime investment strategy, Cerberus Maritime.Cerberus Maritime is aligned with the U.S. Government’s initiative to revitalize the maritime capabilities of the United States and allied nations. The strategy aims to identify high-impact opportunities that strengthen strategic maritime infrastructure and supply chains, maritime logistics infrastructure, port modernization, and advanced maritime technologies. The strategy will have a particular focus on U.S.

Marine solutions company TAI Engineers, part of S&B, has welcomed Matt Garner as its new president.Garner succeeds Bill Krewsky, who will retire in September.He brings more than 28 years of executive leadership and technical expertise in maritime technology and defense systems.Most recently, he served as Vice President of Engineering at Trident Maritime Systems, where he led global engineering teams across four countries.His career includes senior leadership roles at Gibbs & Cox and nearly two decades with the U.S.

A Yemeni Houthi official said on Sunday that the Iran-aligned group's response to the U.S. attack on Iran was "only a matter of time."Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV that its ceasefire deal with Washington was before the "war" on Iran.The group has been launching attacks on shipping lanes and Israel in what it says is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israeli war. It agreed on a ceasefire deal with the United States in May to stop attacking U.S.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to its decades-old defense treaty with the Philippines during a visit to Manila on Friday, pledging to bolster the alliance with advanced military capabilities in the face of increasing tensions with China. Meeting with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Hegseth underscored Washington’s support for its Indo-Pacific ally, particularly as Manila continues to accuse Beijing of aggressive behavior in the South China Sea.

EDGE and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the design, development, and creation of advanced manned and unmanned underwater systems solution capability through their recently launched UAE-based shipbuilding joint venture MAESTRAL.The preliminary agreement will pave the way and boost for developing sophisticated solutions tailored to the unique underwater needs of navies worldwide.The collaboration marks EDGE’s first venture into underwater domain…

A German warship operating as part of the United Nations' UNIFIL peacekeeping mission shot down a drone off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday, the German defense ministry told Reuters, as unease builds over the safety of the U.N. troops in the country.UNIFIL positions have come under fire in Lebanon since Israel launched a ground operation against Hezbollah militants on Oct. 1, raising alarm among European governments participating in the mission."The corvette brought an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into the water in a controlled crash…

Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has successfully resisted its opponents on many fronts, but its most surprising success came in a theater where few expected Ukraine to prevail: the Black Sea.In 2022, the consensus among military analysts was that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s military would most likely crush Ukrainian forces in the air, on land and at sea. With a vast infusion of financial assistance and weapons from the U.S. and Western nations, Ukraine has, however, fought Russia to a standstill on land.

German defense contractor Hensoldt on Friday announced plans to reorganize into four divisions following in its $728 million acquisition of defense systems integrator ESG Elektroniksystem completed earlier this year.Hensoldt will divide its operations into four divisions focused on its different types of businesses: Radar, Optronics, Multi Domain Solutions, and Services & Training.The company said the move is part of an effort to "accelerate growth and make full use of the acquisition and integration of ESG".The core product divisions…

A launching ceremony of the Logistic Support Ship (LSS) Atlante took place at Fincantieri's shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia.Atlante will be delivered in 2025 and is the second unit of this type built for the Navy. The first, Vulcano, was delivered by Fincantieri in 2021.The ships designed to provide logistical support to multiplel national naval components. The LSS ships are designed to be flexible and multi-use, part of the Navy fleet renewal plan, commissioned to the Temporary Business Grouping (RTI) made up of Fincantieri and Leonardo…

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…

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…

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…