Civmec has been awarded a contract from Luerssen Australia in relation to the SEA1180 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) project. As informed, the awarded scope includes the supply and processing of steel for all twelve vessels to be built for the Royal Australian Navy. The construction of the first vesse
BHIC Defence Techservices Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad, announced it has finalized a contract with the Malaysian defense ministry for the upgrade of Lekiu-class frigate communication suites. The RM19,500,000 (approx. US$5 million) contract was signed on Febru
HMS Forth, the first of Royal Navy’s five new Batch-2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, entered service in a ceremony held at her Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, on April 13. At the ceremony, the ship’s Lady Sponsor, Rachel Johnstone-Burt, was joined by UK government and defense officials, a
A US Navy test aircraft on April 11 performed the final developmental test flight of the F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, marking the end of “the most comprehensive, rigorous and the safest developmental flight test program in aviation history.” “Completing F-35 SDD flight test
UK defense contractor BAE Systems has announced a £10 million (approx. $14.2m) investment into upgrades of the Maritime Integration & Support Centre (MISC) aimed at improving research into artificial intelligence, information and electronic warfare, unmanned vehicles and new weapons. Located in Port
US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries said on Wednesday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division plans to reactivate its shipbuilding facilities on the east bank of the Pascagoula River. The site of the original Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., founded in 1938, was decimated by Hurricane Katrina in
General Dynamics has awarded BAE Systems a contract to provide two additional Mk110 naval gun systems for the Independence variant of the US Navy’s littoral combat ship (LCS). The additional guns are part of a follow-on to a current contract, bringing the total number of Mk110 systems to 15 for the
A squadron of 12 French Navy Rafale M fighter jets, accompanied by three KC-135 refueling tankers, took off from the Landivisiau Naval Aviation Base in northwest France on April 4 to head to the United States for a two-month deployment. The aircraft usually fly from the French Navy aircraft carrier
Bath Iron Works-built US Navy destroyer Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) completed builder’s trials late March after four days underway, the US Navy announced. Builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow the shipbuilder and the Navy to assess the ship’s systems and it
Royal Navy’s former fleet flagship and helicopter carrier HMS Ocean was decommissioned on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by Her Majesty The Queen at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. Queen Elizabeth, who is the ship’s lady sponsor, inspected the sailors and was later transported on an aircraft l
Construction of a new naval testing facility at the Portsdown Technology Park (PTP) in Portsmouth, UK, is set to begin soon, UK defense technology company Qinetiq announced as it unveiled the facility’s design. Together with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Qinetiq is investing £23m in
Italian-based electronic warfare specialist Elettronica has laid the groundwork for further collaboration with Thales Australia and the Australian systems house Daronmont related to the potential construction of nine new frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. Under the Memoranda of Understanding, t
UK-based engineering consultancy BMT and Turkey’s ARES Shipyard have received a new order from the Qatari Coast Guard which includes an additional nine vessels. The order was officially signed during Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) last week. The new order cove
The UK defense ministry has awarded a £160 million (approx. $226.5m) contract to a BAE Systems-led team to resolve the power and propulsion system issues experienced by Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers. The Power Improvement Project (PIP) will improve the resilience of the Type 45 class by installing
