Research & Development
UK: Sail drones could serve as ‘eyes and ears’ for larger warships
Royal Navy sailors and ships have harnessed the technology of robot drones in a multi-national insight into potential future naval operations in the Gulf.
German frigate Sachsen tests laser weapon against drones
On 30 August this year, the German Navy’s frigate Sachsen fired a shipboard laser weapon against drones at short and very short range in the Baltic Sea near Putlos Major Training Area.
EU to bolster naval projects under €1.2 billion defence investment plan
On 20 July, the European Commission announced plans to grant a total EU funding of almost €1.2 billion supporting 61 collaborative defence research and development projects, including projects from the naval defence sector.
Russian Navy’s special-mission nuclear submarine Belgorod delivered
Sevmash Shipyard, part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, has delivered the special-mission, nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod.
Royal Navy’s survey ship prepares for new record-breaking mission
Royal Navy’s veteran survey ship HMS Scott is preparing for a record-breaking 14-month mission which will keep the ship at sea until the end of next year.
Biofuels are ‘more realistic’ option to decarbonize naval vessels, DNV white paper finds
Biofuels are seen as a more realistic option for the decarbonization of naval ships than ammonia, methanol, hydrocarbons or other power sources, a new white paper finds.
UK, US and Australia plot new projects under AUKUS pact, including development of hypersonic weapons
The UK, the US, and Australia will focus on new elements of collaboration under AUKUS pact, originally announced last September to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
Dstl, UK and US navies test autonomous maritime asset protection system
Working with the Royal Navy, industry partners, and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Centre, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has conducted research to improve detection, tracking, classification and defeat capabilities against surface and subsurface threats using autonomous sy
Naval vessels market value to reach $86.91 billion by 2027
The naval vessels market was valued at approximately $57.8 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to grow by more than 6% between the period 2021-2027, new report data shows.
Royal Navy to develop future autonomous fleet program
The British Royal Navy has unveiled its plans to develop a future autonomous fleet program led by engineers from UK Naval Engineering Science and Technology (UKNEST).
Royal Navy, University of Plymouth to jointly study marine autonomy
The Royal Navy and the University of Plymouth have joined forces to conduct research and advance understanding around the future potential of marine autonomy.
MHI takes part in Japanese-French mine-countermeasure tech project
Japanese defence contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has concluded a research and prototype production contract with the country’s Ministry of Defense for next-generation mine-countermeasure technology.
Rolls-Royce gets UK MOD funding for autonomous naval tech
Rolls-Royce has been awarded funding by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to further develop and demonstrate the Artificial Chief Engineer technology – an autonomous machinery control system that allows naval vessels to undertake long endurance missions with less human interaction.
Fincantieri kicks off SEA Defence activities
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has officially started its activities within the European SEA Defence project.