US Marine Corps’ F/A-18 squadrons recently completed operational flights with the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) 2.75 rocket that provides air-to-ground weapon support. APKWS allows the F/A-18A-D to maintain a forward-firing, moving-target capability while increasing available ordnanc
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
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
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
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
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
The US Coast Guard’s 27th fast response cutter (FRC), Richard Snyder, arrived at its new homeport in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, on March 21. Richard Snyder is the first of its class to be homeported in Atlantic Beach. The FRC was buuilt by Bollinger Shipyards and received by the US Coast Guard
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay arrived in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) waters on March 19 to help the the British overseas territory with a recent increase in the number of migrant arrivals from Haiti. TCI police and border control officials observed a surge in the number of illegal sloops
The US Coast Guard decommissioned the Island-class cutter Galveston Island (WPB 1349) in a ceremony held at Coast Guard Base Honolulu on March 16. The 110-foot patrol boat was decommissioned after nearly 26 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts. Its years of service included law enfor
The Netherlands-based shipbuilding group Damen Shipyards is ready to build Germany’s new MKS180 frigates at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, the company has told German parliament members. This is according to a letter seen by German news agency Welt in which Damen, together with its bidding part
Trent, the third of five River-class offshore patrol vessels (OPV) being built for the Royal Navy, has been named. The naming ceremony took place in Govan, Glasgow on March 13, BAE Systems Maritime informed. Trent is now set to take to the water for the first time and make the short journey across t
