Start Archive: News & Articles

Archive: News & Articles


Diesel-electric Barracuda design selected to replace Dutch navy’s Walrus-class submarines

France’s Naval Group has been selected by the Dutch Ministry of Defence for the Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability project, based on the group bidding a conventional diesel-electric-powered variant of its Barracuda-class nuclear-powered attack submarine design, the company announced on 15 March 2024. The French design was selected ahead of bids from a Damen and Saab […]

Dutch to replace LPDs and OPVs with one class of Amphibious Transport Ship

The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced plans to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy’s (RNLN’s) two landing platform dock (LPD) ships and four Holland-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) with a single class of six ‘Amphibious Transport Ships’. The vessels are intended to be suitable for wartime scenarios as well as other types of amphibious […]

Fifth and final Avante 2200 corvette commissioned into RSNF

A commissioning ceremony for the fifth Avante 2200 corvette built by Navantia for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) was held in Jeddah on 7 March 2024. The corvette, HMS Unayzah, is the last vessel to be delivered to the RSNF under the Al-Sarawat project. It was built at Navantia’s Bay of Cádiz shipyard before […]



Coastal defence

Coastal zones face a broad array of airborne and seaborne threats. Since defence against airborne threats is not unique to coastal zones, this article will focus on the seaborne category. The seaborne category includes a range of threats including: reconnaissance and direct attack missions by manned and unmanned vessels; stealth missions to conduct underwater sabotage, […]

Team behind UK’s DragonFire LDEW demonstrator now looking to produce a deployable application

Following the announcement on 19 January 2024 that the UK’s DragonFire laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology demonstrator had successfully conducted firing trials against aerial targets at a range in the Hebrides, the team behind DragonFire is now ready to develop it into one or more deployable weapon systems. Senior officials from the DragonFire team, which […]

Penultimate Type 23 LIFEX returns HMS St Albans to sea

Babcock has delivered Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans back to the Royal Navy for sea trials three months ahead of the planned schedule following the completion of its life extension (LIFEX) programme, the company announced on 7 March 2024. Once the ship’s current sea trials are completed, HMS St Albans, with a 178-strong crew, […]



Naval Group, Tawazun Council and Marakeb Technologies to jointly develop CMS for UAE Navy

France’s Naval Group has signed a joint development agreement with Tawazun Council and Marakeb Technologies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the development of a National Combat Management System (NCMS) for the UAE Navy through an extensive transfer of technology and know-how, the companies announced in a joint press release on 8 March 2024. […]

BQM-177A aerial targets approved for ROKN to facilitate KDX-III Batch II destroyer combat system trials

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to South Korea of subsonic sea-skimming aerial targets (SSATs) and related elements of logistics and programme support, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 7 March 2024. The sale, which is worth an estimated USD 170.6 million (EUR 156 million), has […]

Houthi campaign against Red Sea shipping inflicts its first fatalities

The campaign waged by the Yemen-based Houthi militia against commercial shipping in the Red Sea region has inflicted its first fatalities. “At approximately 11:30 am (Sanaa time) March 6 an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) was launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, while transiting the Gulf […]



First CAPTAS-4 variable-depth sonar delivered to Constellation-class frigate programme

The first CAPTAS-4 variable-depth sonar (VDS) transmitter has been delivered to the US Navy’s Constellation-class frigate programme by Thales subsidiary Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC), Thales announced on 29 February 2024. The system was actually delivered on 12 October 2023, which Thales noted was “ahead of contractual milestones while under very aggressive time constraints”. The Constellation-class […]

Ukrainian USVs claim Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov

The Ukrainian military has claimed the destruction of another vessel of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, this time the 1,700-tonne Project 22160-class patrol ship Sergei Kotov. As with previous strikes, the attack was conducted using multiple bomb-laden Magura V5 unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated on […]

Babcock awarded full contract for second refit of Vanguard-class SSBN

Babcock has secured a contract from the UK’s Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) to undertake the second Long Overhaul Period and Refuel (LOP(R)) for HMS Victorious, one of the UK’s Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), the company announced on 1 March 2024. The full cost recovery contract is worth an estimated GBP 560 million (EUR […]



HMS Prince of Wales leads carrier strike group for NATO’s Exercise ‘Steadfast Defender’

The UK Royal Navy (RN) aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has arrived in Norway to lead a NATO carrier strike group participating in the NATO exercise ‘Steadfast Defender’, the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation announced on 23 February 2024. HMS Prince of Wales departed Portmouth in the UK on […]

EDGE Group to join Fincantieri in shipbuilding joint venture

United Arab Emirates (UAE) defence entity EDGE Group and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri have agreed to launch a joint venture (JV) to capitalise on global shipbuilding opportunities with a focus on the manufacturing of a broad range of sophisticated naval vessels, the companies announced on 21 February 2024. EDGE will hold a 51% stake in the […]

UK MoD plays down failed test of Trident II SLBM

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has played down the significance of the recent failed test launch of a Trident II (D5) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The test failure, first reported by The Sun newspaper, occurred on 30 January 2024, when the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine HMS Vanguard tested an unarmed Trident II SLBM off […]



Australian government releases blueprint for larger and more lethal RAN surface fleet

The Australian government released its blueprint for a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 20 February 2024. Its publication follows Canberra’s consideration of the recommendations of an independent analysis of the surface combatant fleet, commissioned in response to the government’s 2023 Defence Strategic Review. Although the blueprint […]

CENTCOM continues to target Houthis, whose arsenal now includes UUVs

The forces of US Central Command (CENTCOM) continue to strike at the offensive military assets of the Yemen-based Houthi militia in an attempt to curtail their ability to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea region. As well as targeting Houthi anti-ship missiles and bomb-laden unmanned aerial vehicles before they can be launched, on 17 […]

Naval Group completes modernisation of La Fayette-class frigates

Naval Group has completed the modernisation of the third and last French Navy La Fayette-class frigate scheduled to receive such a refit, Aconit, after six months of work followed by a series of dockside and sea trials, the company announced on 13 February 2024. With the delivery of this ship refurbishment, which was completed at […]



Ukrainians sink another major Black Sea Fleet surface ship

Ukrainian special forces using bomb-laden unmanned surface vessels have sunk another Ropucha-class landing ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. The GUR announced on its website on 14 February 2024 that earlier that day special forces of the GUR’s Group 13 […]

Aurora EDP to support combat system integration on future Royal Navy frigates

The Aurora Engineering Partnership (EDP) – comprising QinetiQ, AtkinsRéalis and BMT – has been awarded a new GBP 13 million (EUR 15.3 million) contract by the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation to provide specialist maritime combat systems, Aurora EDP announced on 12 February 2024. The new four-year contract will provide the combat systems […]

Babcock to continue supporting Royal Navy ship protective systems

Babcock has been awarded a new five-year contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to continue providing in-service support for the Royal Navy’s ship protective systems (SPS), the company announced on 6 February 2024. The contract consists of degaussing, cathodic protection, and active shaft grounding to ships and submarines, restricting the rate of hull […]




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