The Brazilian Navy wants to improve the radar capabilities of its OPVs. (Victor Barreira)  As part of an effort to update its Amazonas-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), the Brazilian Navy is acquiring a new air and surface search radar with identification friend-or-foe capability (IFF), according to the Navy Weapon Systems Directorate (Diretoria de Sistemas de Armas da Marinha: DSAM).    The Brazilian Naval Commission in Washington, DC, (Comissão Naval Brasileira em Washington: CNBW) on behalf of the DSAM has    requested a...

HMS   Cardiff  will be the last Type 26 to be consolidated in the open.  (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)    BAE Systems Naval Ships in Glasgow is outsourcing steel work and introducing a new automated panel line as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of a steelworker deficit on the UK Royal Navy's    (RN's) Type 26 City-class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigate programme.     Sir Simon Lister, managing director of the Naval Ships business, said these measures – allied to the construction of a...

Cayor  , the third and final OPV 58S, was formally handed over to Senegal during a ceremony in Concarneau on 16 April.   (Senegalese Navy)  French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered the final missile-armed Walo (OPV 58 S)-class offshore patrol ship to Senegal, completing the three-ship programme.  The last vessel in the class, named Cayor, was formally handed over during a ceremony held in Concarneau, France, on 16 April, the shipbuilder confirmed the same day.  According to Piriou, the shipbuilding programme was completed on time...

Pilots from the French Navy surveillance frigate   Vendémiaire   (F734) practice landing aboard the amphibious command ship USS   Blue Ridge  (LCC 19) during an interoperability exercise.  Blue Ridge   is the flagship for Commander, US 7th Fleet.   (US Navy)  The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military have begun the most complex iteration of Exercise ‘Balikatan', which is seeing the first-time participation of a French Navy warship and vessels from the Philippine Co...

MdCN is launched from the FREMM frigate   Aquitaine   on 18 April.   (French Navy)  The French Navy has successfully conducted its first simultaneous test launch of the Missile de Croisière Navale (MdCN)naval cruise missile from a frigate and a submarine.  The test-firing was carried out by the service's lead multimission (FREMM) frigate Aquitaine, positioned off the coast of Brittany, and one of its Suffren (Barracuda)-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), located off the coast of Biscarrosse, on 18 Apr...

Singapore's fourth Type 218SG submarine, seen here before its launch ceremony on 22 April 2024. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)  German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched the last of four Invincible-class (Type 218SG) air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) on order for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).    The vessel, which will be known in service as RSS   Inimitable  once commissioned, was launched on 22 April at TKMS' facilities in Kiel, Germany, the Singapore...

Sonar 2087 (the variable depth towed body is pictured here) remains the RN surface fleet's principal long-range ASW sensor. SEA's software application is designed to automatically determine the optimum deployment depth of an active sonar projector and the receive array within the water column. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  UK company Systems Engineering and Assessment (SEA) has been tasked to demonstrate a software application designed to enhance the performance of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) principal surface ship anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sona...

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladímir Padrino López inspects a CM-90 anti-ship missile. (Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa (Venezuela))  The Venezuelan military confirmed on 16 April that it has the CM-90 export version of Iran's Nasir anti-ship missile (ASM).  Defence Minister Vladímir Padrino López inaugurated what a defence ministry statement described as a workshop for the CM-90 at Base Naval CA Agustín Armario in Puerto Cabello as part of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela's (ABV's) anniversary celebrations on that day. It releas...

The USV concept. (Dutch MoD)  The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Dutch Naval Design (DND) have joined forces to develop an unmanned surface vessel (USV).  Announcing the partnership on 12 April, the MoD said the USV will be designed for deployment from the future anti-submarine warfare frigates (ASWFs) currently under development.  Under the terms of the contract, signed on 10 April, the USV is planned to be completed in around four years, the MoD said. The 12 m long vessel will be “technologically very advanced, sustainable, auton...

Cherkasy,   one of the Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy Sandown-class MCMVs, is pictured entering Portsmouth Harbour on 11 April ahead of a series of multinational naval exercises.  (Crown copyright)  The Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy (RN) Sandown-class mine-countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) have been temporarily homeported at Portsmouth Naval Base, the RN has confirmed.    The two minehunters,   Chernihiv   (ex-HMS   Grimsby  ) and   Cherkasy  (ex-HMS...

US lawmakers question the US Navy request to fund only one Virginia-class submarine (pictured) in fiscal year 2025. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Members of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee raised concerns about the proposed US Navy (USN) plan to pare down key shipbuilding programmes on 17 April during the subcommittee hearing on the USN's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request.  While the USN – as was the case with the rest of the Pentagon – was charged with keeping a lid on costs, lawmakers said they felt the USN...

The first prototype of Australia's Ghost Shark XL-AUV programme, which was unveiled on 18 April 2024. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The first of three prototypes to be built under Australia's Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) programme has been completed, the country's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced on 18 April.  The programme to develop the XL-AUV is being jointly developed and funded by a partnership between the Australian Department of Defence and Anduril Australia, a subsidiary of US defence t...

The ITCM (pictured above from its test on 18 April) is a technology demonstrator programme to validate the capability of small turbofan engines. (Indian Ministry of Defence)  India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired its ‘Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM)' from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 18 April.  “During the test, all subsystems performed as per expectation and the missil...

Red Sea operations have depleted inventories of USN missiles, such as SM-6s, being shown fired here. (US Navy)  After providing defence against recent Iranian missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks – as well as other attacks in or near the Red Sea – the US Navy (USN) needs funding to restock its weapons inventory, USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro testified on 16 April during a Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) hearing on navy posture.  Estimating that the navy has defended against about 130 attacks in recent months, Del Toro said,...

The US Navy is the contracting agent for the US Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter. (VT Halter/Marine Technology Associates)  Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski asked US naval officials to show “robust” support for platforms and facilities for Arctic-related operations on 16 April during a Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) hearing.  In particular, Murkowski asked for greater support for the US Coast Guard's (USCG's) Polar Security Cutter (PSC) programme and the effort to create a naval port facility in Nome, Alaska.  “I've been trying to get...

A keel-laying ceremony for first Fininish Navy Squadron 2020 corvette was held at Rauma shipyard on 11 April. (Rauma shipyard)  Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) laid the keel for the first Squadron 2020 Pohjanmaa-class multirole corvette on order for the Finnish Navy during a ceremony at its shipyard in Rauma on 11 April.  Announcing the milestone the same day, RMC said the yard has been making good progress on the first ship since the first steel was cut on 30 October 2023. “It has been five months since the start of construction, and the op...

HII has made capital expenditure investments at its shipyards, including Newport News Shipbuilding, shown here. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  US shipbuilders should invest more money in their facilities to help the US Navy (USN) meet fleet requirements, USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro testified on 16 April to the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC).  “Shipyards are not making enough of a contribution,” Del Toro testified during the SAC hearing on navy posture, pointing out that while the USN has invested billions in shipbuilding plans, shipbuilders...

The MRC weapon system (pictured above from its trials in June 2023) is a containerised version of the Mk 41 VLS that can be integrated and fired from the bed of a M983A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. (US Army)  The US Army's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (1MDTF) has deployed its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) weapon system – also known as the Typhon Weapons System – at Northern Luzon in the Philippines as part of Exercise ‘Salaknib 24', the US Army Pacific said in a press release on 15 April.  This deployment aims to enhance the Philippin...

The V-Bat UAV, shown here during testing, is becoming the UAV of choice for US forces. (US Navy)  Military planners and operators are beginning to consider unmanned surface and aerial vehicles in a more operational light given recent successes in experiments and in the battlespace, according to defence analysts.  One case in point is the Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV) the US Marine Corps (USMC) plans to use as a semi-autonomous vessel for extended travel and transporting loitering munitions that accurately track and destroy target...

The Royal Navy is planning to deploy the DragonFire laser weapon (pictured) from one of its warships in 2027. (Crown Copyright)    The UK Royal Navy (RN) will install the DragonFire laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) onboard    one of its warships five years earlier than planned under new procurement reforms introduced by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in April.   Announcing the accelerated schedule on 12 April, the RN said that earlier plans to deploy the system in 2032 are being brought forward to 2027 as the need for...