New Zealand is buying four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the United States to replace its ageing Orions, the government announced July 9. The four aircraft will replace the six P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) that have been operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force
The upgraded Block 2 Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) recently intercepted a BQM-74E aerial target in a successful flight test, the US Navy announced on July 5. This was the first ESSM flight test to utilize the new Block 2 active guidance seeker-head. ESSM Block 2 will employ both semi-active and
The Royal Australian Navy is one step closer to operating their new hyperbaric equipment after the system achieved acceptance and global certification from Lloyds Register. The system, a transfer under pressure chamber and recompression treatment suite worth AU$19.7 million, can treat the whole crew
The first of the Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines has returned to service after receiving upgrades during maintenance at ASC’s shipyard in Osborne, South Australia. ASC completed planned maintenance onboard the HMAS Collins as part of a full-cycle docking and enterprise restructure o
International engineering and technology consultancy BMT has announced the purchase of niche submarine design, engineering and assurance firm, Effectiva. An employer of submarine specialists, Effectiva is based in Australia, South Africa and France. BMT said the acquisition was part of the company’s
More than 75 years after the Second World War, decommissioned Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) diving support vessel Manawanui will soon be fighting environmental hazards at key sites across the southern Pacific. Decommissioned from the RNZN in February 2018 after 30 years of service, former HMNZS Mana
A new training and capability center at HMAS Stirling and Henderson which will support the Australian Navy’s new SEA 5000 frigates – to be built by BAE Systems – will benefit from an AU$670 million investment, the Australian government has announced. To be known as ‘Ship Zero’, the center will trans
BAE Systems has beaten its Spanish and Italian competitors in a bid to build a fleet of nine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the decision on Friday. Once in Royal Australian Navy service, the frigates will be referred to as the Hunter-
The French Navy has officially commissioned its newest ice-breaking and polar patrol vessel L’Astrolabe, nine months after receiving it and eight months after sending it on an astral summer mission to Antarctica. As explained, the French Navy puts it newbuilds through two phases of testing. The firs
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of Aegis combat system equipment for the Royal Australian Navy’s new SEA5000 frigates. The approved $185 million sale would include equipment associated with the integration of the Australian CEAFAR 2 phased array radar system with the Lockheed M
Over fifty ships and submarines from 26 nations gathered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam for the start of the world’s largest naval drill – RIMPAC 2018 – which kicked off June 27. Taking place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise is s
Underwater systems producer Aquabotix has made its first sale to the United States Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) to support unexploded ordnance detection missions. Aquabotix said that its subsidiary Aquabotix Technology Corporation has been granted an award of USD 78,000 in funding from the U
The Australian government announced it is investing AU$1.4 billion in the acquisition of six MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The UAS will be acquired through a cooperative program with the US Navy. Australia is buying the UAS to complement the surveillance role of the P-8A Poseidon air
Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll became the third Royal Navy ship to deploy to Asia as she got underway from her Devonport Naval base on June 18. The frigate will be spending the next nine-months in Asia, sailing as far as Japan as part of a national push to strengthen military and diplomatic ties in [&he
