American technology company AeroVironment announced it has demonstrated its Puma-Switchblade combination of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in an automated sensor-to-shooter (S2S) configuration from a US Navy coastal riverine craft. The UAV pair combines the existing RQ-20B Puma Block 2 small UAS wit
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) has tested a system designed to remotely land aircraft on a carrier, the US Navy informed. The aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor (ATARI) was, for the first time ever, demonstrated during a touch-and-go on an aircraft carrier while conducting carrier qualificatio
Italian defense company Leonardo has signed a grant agreement for OCEAN2020, the first European Defence Fund’s initiative project aimed at boosting Europe’s defense research. The project – which will be funded by a grant totaling around EUR 35 million – will be led by Leonardo, which will coordinate
An Indian Navy Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed soon after taking off from the naval air base in Porbandar, Gujarat, in the morning hours of March 22, 2018. There has been no injuries or casualties following the incident, the Indian Navy said on Twitter. “The UAV crashed in an open ground
US Navy’s World War II Atlanta-class light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) was located off the coast of the Solomon Islands in South Pacific by the crew research vessel (R/V) Petrel. R/V Petrel, which was acquired by Microsoft co-founder and investor Paul Allen and fitted with subsea equipment capable of
French autonomous systems developer ECA Group recently unveiled and demonstrated its new mid-sized mine counter measure autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the A18-M. A live demonstration of the company’s new AUV family member took place off Toulon, Southern France, on February 16. According to the
The US Navy has selected five contenders for its FFG(X) future frigate program and awarded them conceptual design contracts on February 16. The selected companies are Austal and Lockheed Martin with their adaptations of littoral combat ship designs, Huntington Ingalls Industries with its offshore pa
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
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
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer UMS SKELDAR has joined the European Defence Fund’s OCEAN2020 autonomous systems project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV, the company announced on January 22. UMS SKELDAR is joining the naval surveillance technology project alongside its partner Saab. OCEAN2020 is t
The French defense procurement agency DGA (Direction générale de l’armement) has awarded the Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters consortium a contract to develop a rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator for the French Navy. According to a Naval Group announcement, the contract covers
Canadian marine technology company Kraken Robotic Systems has completed development of a real-time synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system for the US Navy’s REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The real-time sonar has already been integrated and tested onboard the REMUS 600, operated by the
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Newcastle wrapped up a six-month deployment to the Middle East achieving some firsts and marking some lasts along the way. She conducted a range of Combined Maritime Forces operations, including an attachment in support of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, and t
Underwater systems producer Aquabotix announced it has partnered with W.S. Darley & Co. for the distribution of Aquabotix underwater vehicles and camera systems to the US Navy. Through this partnership, Aquabotix will will be working with Darley Defense, a specialty division of Darley that markets n
