Archive: News & Articles

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has selected the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SeaGuardian for its Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle programme, GA-ASI announced on 3 December 2024. The number of SeaGuardian platforms to be procured by the JMSDF has not yet been disclosed. The decision follows the JMSDF’s use of SeaGuardian […]

Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall and Munich-headquartered extended reality (XR) specialist Hologate plan to co-operate closely in the development of innovative future simulation solutions, Rheinmetall announced on 2 December 2024. The strategic co-operation aims to advance developments that are crucial for modern military training. “In a world where the requirements for training systems and methods for educating drivers […]

Maritime design and engineering consultancy BMT has acquired Melbourne-based Australian Maritime Technologies (AMT), the company announced on 2 December 2024. A specialist in engineering, design and consulting services for marine projects, AMT will be used to strengthen BMT’s capabilities in ship design and engineering for defence and commercial maritime customers and to enhance BMT’s ability […]

Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Baykar has claimed a landmark in naval aviation history with one of its Bayraktar TB3s becoming the first UAV of its class to take off from and then land back onto a short-runway vessel. The flight test took place on 19 November 2024 off the Turkish amphibious assault ship […]

Navantia’s shipyard in Cartagena has completed installing the first hydrogen-based air-independent propulsion (AIP) system into a Spanish Navy S-80 class diesel-electric submarine, the company announced on 26 November 2024. The AIP system, commercially known as BEST (Bio-Ethanol Stealth Technology), is billed by Navantia as the first third-generation AIP system to be fitted into a submarine. […]

The German Navy has concluded around two weeks of trials with the BlueWhale autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by the ELTA Systems division of Israel Aerospace Systems (IAI), the Israeli company announced on 26 November 2024. The Operational Experimentation (OPEX) trials, which took place in early November near Eckernförde on Germany’s Baltic coast, addressed the […]

BAE Systems, collaborating with Canadian company Cellula Robotics, has successfully demonstrated the Herne extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XLAUV) off the south coast of England, the company announced on 25 November 2024. The Herne XLAUV has been configured by BAE Systems to enable navies to monitor and help protect underwater infrastructure across the vast expanses of the […]

On 24 November 2024 the Israel Military Procurement Ministerial Committee approved several major acquisitions, including Project ‘Reshef’ – the programme to provide the Israeli Navy’s next-generation missile corvette – and hundreds of new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs). The approvals, which were detailed in a joint statement from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Israeli […]

As it continues to work through its Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is withdrawing a number of ships, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from service ahead of schedule to put its budget and future capabilities on a sounder footing. Addressing the House of Commons on 20 November 2024, UK […]

Saab and Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) have signed an expanded memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen collaboration on the exploration of underwater technologies. The agreement was signed on 20 November 2024 at the Sweden–Singapore Royal Business Forum in connection with the first Swedish state visit to Singapore. The expanded MoU builds upon […]

While industry forecasts for shipbuilding, and the defence industry more generally, are predicting significant expansion over the next decade, differences of opinion remain on the strategies for achieving such growth and the factors that will influence them. At the Euronaval 2024 defence exhibition McKinsey & Company launched its industry report titled ‘McKinsey on the Maritime […]

A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) Gray Eagle STOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has taken off from a South Korean warship and landed at a ground base in the first-ever such mission for a UAV of that type, GA-ASI announced on 13 November 2024. The mission took place on 12 November 2024, when the […]

BAE Systems has received USD 202 million (EUR 191 million) in US Navy contracts to provide modernisation and maintenance services for the guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), the company announced on 18 November 2024. Work on the two ships will begin in February and […]

The first barge shock test for the F110 frigate programme has been successfully completed, Navantia announced on 14 November 2024. The test, which was conducted on 31 October, will allow the shock qualification of the diesel generator, main switchboard and fuel purifier module that will be installed on the five frigates that Navantia is contracted […]

Beyond the aircraft at the 2024 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China), held in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai from 12 to 17 November, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has officially unveiled a new trimaran surface combatant called the Orca. First spotted in October 2024 at Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China, […]

European missile house MBDA successfully completed the first test-firing of its Teseo MK2/E evolved anti-ship missile on 14 October 2024 as part of a multi-year development programme for the Italian Navy, the company reported on 4 November. The Teseo MK2/E is a new-generation missile that MBDA says “brings a substantial improvement in the anti-ship capabilities […]

UK fire control specialist Chess Dynamics launched its next-generation SeaEagle FCRO fire control radar and electro-optical system at the 2024 Euronaval exhibition, held in Paris from 4 to 7 November. Designed to deliver precision fire control for any in-service naval gun, but with applicability also to other types of weapon, SeaEagle FCRO combines high-performance electro-optical […]

Coinciding with the 2024 Euronaval exhibition, held in Paris from 4-7 November, Saab has launched Autonomous Ocean Core: a ready-to-use control system to provide autonomous capabilities to surface and subsurface naval platforms. A vessel-agnostic control system with an open architecture, Autonomous Ocean Core is designed to make vessels autonomous to enhance their mission success at […]

European missile house MBDA unveiled the latest generation of its famous Exocet anti-ship missile family at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition, held in Paris from 4 to 7 November. The Exocet SM40, a brand new submarine-launched missile for anti-ship and surface warfare, features two main changes compared to the current-generation SM39 Exocet while retaining the operational […]

An Initial Consortium Agreement that aims to govern the execution of the second phase (Call 2) of the European Defence Fund’s Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC) project was signed at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition in Paris on 4 November. The agreement was signed by the CEOs of the four companies whose consortium proposal was […]

Following the announcement of their teaming agreement on 1 November 2024, UK ship and fleet protection specialist SEA and Danish engineering company Terma announced the development of a combined countermeasures solution, Ancilia Powered by C-Guard MKII, on the first day of the 2024 Euronaval exhibition in Paris on 4 November. The new capability will provide […]