HMS Albion – the Royal Navy amphibious assault ship that has been mothballed in 2011, just eight years after she joined the fleet – is gradually coming to life one step at a time. In her latest milestone, the amphibious command ship been placed in long term lay-up with her own generators now powerin
The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is sponsoring scientists who have traveled to Arctic Ocean region to explore an environment of diminishing ice and develop new tools that will help the U.S. Navy operate in a once-inaccessible area. A recent announcement from the National Snow and Ice Data Cen
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded Science Applications International Corp. a contract to manufacture additional MK 48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo afterbody/tailcone sections. The contract has a 27-month base period of performance from award to final acceptance and includes option
Australia is considering an Indonesian invitation for joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea, Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday. According to Bishop, the option was discussed during last week’s meeting between her, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian o
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) performed a Standard Missile (SM) launch off the coast of Virginia to test the latest version of the Aegis Weapon System. USS Mitscher recently completed the AEGIS ACB-12 upgrade during and extended dry-dock selected rest
Airbus Helicopters’ Brazilian subsidiary Helibras recently officially presented the Brazilian Navy’s H225M multirole utility helicopter in a naval combat configuration. Developed and assembled locally by Helibras, this new H225M version is equipped with mission capabilities that include anti-surface
The UK Royal Marines first improved Merlin Mk4 performed its maiden flight earlier in the week at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. Working under a 2014-contract worth £330 million (€400), engineers from Leonardo are converting 25 Royal Air Force AW101 Merlin Mk.3 and Mk3A helicopters to replac
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has contracted Swedish defense contractor Saab to deliver an integrated combat system for the two new Royal Australian Navy replenishment ships. According to Saab, the contract is worth SEK 226 million (approx US$25 milion). Helicopter control radar and decoy system are
The crew of the Australian minehunter HMAS Huon has found a missing American World War II plane during a mine clearance operation in the Solomon Islands. The South West Pacific nation was the scene of bitter fighting between US and Japanese forces from 1942 until 1945. At the request of the United S
U.S. based defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation demonstrated its AQS-24B mine hunting system at the Royal Navy-sponsored Unmanned Warrior exercise in Scotland marking the first time the AQS-24B towed mine hunting sensor has been deployed from an unmanned surface vessel in British waters.
The Russian Navy said it was ready to lay the keel for the first ship in a new class of corvettes also referred to as Project 20386. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg on October 28. Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Korolyov ordered the first vessel to be named
DARPA’s unmanned anti-submarine warfare vessel that is currently undergoing open-water testing off the coast of California recently set sail with its first payload: a prototype of a low-cost, elevated sensor mast developed through the agency’s towed airborne lift of naval systems (TALONS) research e
U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Wasp rounded off four months at sea as it pulled into Souda Bay, Greece, on October 24. The ship’s crew, embarked Amphibious Squadron 6 staff, and embarked marines spent 121 total days underway, interrupted only by a brief stop for fuel in Rota, Spain, in July
With an order book of over $3 billion, Austal is the only Australian company to make it into the top 100 defence companies in the world. Operating shipyards in Australia, U.S. and the Philippines, the company constructs ships for both the defence and commercial sector. Defence is at the company’s co
