French shipbuilders STX France and Socarenam joined forces with Belgium’s EDR to try and secure a contract for the construction of 12 mine counter measure vessels for the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands. The two navies are jointly procuring mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels and frigates with B
Indian shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) launched the third Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarine for the Indian Navy at its shipyard on January 31. The submarine was named ‘Karanj’ and was launched by Mrs Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association. The launch ceremon
Finnish Navy’s Hamina-class missile boats will be receiving new Bofors 40 Mk4 naval guns delivered by BAE Systems under a contract with Finland’s Patria. Patria is the prime contractor selected by Finland’s defense ministry to coordinate the missile boat upgrades. “Finland is the third country to se
US Navy ships assigned to the Carl Vinson carrier strike group arrived in Guam on January 30 and 31 for the first port call of their Western Pacific deployment. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) a
Royal Canadian Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessel Asterix has entered service after completing sea trials and testing. Asterix performed daily replenishment-at-sea (RAS) exercises with the RCN and conducted extensive RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter operations to prove and demonstrate its
Ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) under command of Commander Peter Ramboer of the Belgian Navy arrived in Hull, UK on January 26. The group made a routine port visit to Hull as part of their annual schedule of operations. While in Hull, officers made courtesy
The Belgian government on Friday, January 26, decided to give the department of defense its green light for the acquisition of six new mine countermeasure vessels. The order will be placed jointly with the Netherlands Navy which will acquire an identical number of MCM ships. In addition to mine coun
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Lockheed Martin Aculight Corp. a $150 million contract for work on the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System, previously known as the Seasaber. The contract will see Lockheed Martin develop, manufacture, and deliver two High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical
The Canadian government has awarded Raytheon Canada a CAD$704 million contract for the upkeep and upgrades of close-in weapon systems (CIWS) aboard Royal Canadian Navy ships. The in-service support contract will be valid until late 2037, and comprises an initial 10-year service period with three opt
Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742) arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) earlier this month to start preparations for her 27-month refueling overhaul, the US Navy announced. In a first for NNSY, Enlisted Women at Sea ship alterations will be performed onboard, modifying
The Australian federal government has unveiled a new defense export strategy aimed at turning Australia into a major defense exporter. The document, unveiled by defense industry minister Christopher Pyne on Monday, sets out the policy and strategy to make Australia one of the top ten global defense
The US Navy announced it is starting a mission to survey the downed C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed into the Philippine Sea en route to aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on November 22. The navy will carry out the mission with help from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s research vessel R/V Pet
The US Navy has carried out another Harpoon Block II+ missile test at the Point Mugu Sea Test Range on January 22. The latest test demonstrated the missile’s ability to talk with the newest F/A-18’s software upgrade as the interface becomes operational on the F/A-18 Super Hornet system. The upgrade,
Looking for new technologies to improve the operation of unmanned underwater vehicles, the Royal Navy used the Maritime Enterprise Innovation Scotland Conference (MEISC) to set challenges for developers. During the conference, held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on January 24, two speci
