Taiwan has developed Hsiung Feng IIE, Hsiung Sheng, and Ching Tien LACMs capable of striking key Chinese cities such as Beijing as well as Wuhan, Shanghai, and Qingdao, as part of its plan to improve air and sea combat capabilities. (Janes)    Taiwan is planning to deploy a long-range variant of Hsiung Feng II land-attack cruise missile (LACM) called Hsiung Sheng in 2024, a Republic of China Army (RoCA) officer told   Janes   on 6 April.   The missile – which went into production in 2022 – can strike at a maximum range of 1...

A Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class frigate (topmost), seen here carrying out the first MMCA exercise in the South China Sea on 7 April with (from the front) the US Navy's USS   Mobile  , the JMSDF's JS   Akebono  , and the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS   Warramunga  .  (Australian Department of Defence)  Naval vessels from four countries have completed an inaugural South China Sea exercise known as the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA).  The exercise was carried out on 7...

Raytheon Technologies is ramping up production of RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile guided weapon systems. (Raytheon Technologies)    Raytheon Technologies is ramping up RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) production as it works on improving operational missile communication capabilities, Roger Bissmeyer, company's RAM programme director, told   Janes  .   Future missile iterations will likely feature “next level of communication,” Bissmeyer noted. “When missiles talk to the ship and the ship talks to missiles, that's a w...

US Coast Guard heavy icebreaker  Polar Star  is undergoing more recapitalisation work.  (US Coast Guard)    Having completed a 138-day deployment to Antarctica on 31 March to support Operation ‘Deep Freeze 2024', US Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter  Polar Star  (WAGB 10), the only operational US heavy icebreaker, is about to start phase four of its five-year Service Life Extension Project (SLEP) in Vallejo, California, USCG officials confirmed on 4 April.   The SLEP work is being done by Mare Island Dr...

The Royal Danish Navy (RDN) frigate HDMS   Iver Huitfeldt  (pictured in October 2021) has returned to Korsør from deployment in the Red Sea.  (Michael Nitz)    The Royal Danish Navy (RDN) frigate HDMS   Iver Huitfeldt  (F 361) returned to Naval Station Korsør, Denmark, on 4 April following its deployment in the US-led multinational task force Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian', Danish Defence Command has confirmed.   The frigate's return was originally scheduled for mid-April and comes amid contr...

The Agni-Prime – pictured above from its first test firing in June 2021 – is a surface-to-surface missile with a length of 10 m. It has a conical-shaped re-entry vehicle in comparison with the Agni II's blunt biconic re-entry vehicle. (DRDO via PIB)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Strategic Forces Command (SFC) test-fired the Agni-Prime medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) on 3 April from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press rele...

The Hwaseong-16Na missile has an estimated range of 3,000–5,500 km. When launched from Pyongyang, the missile has the ability to strike US military base in Guam at its maximum estimated range. (Janes)  North Korea test-fired a “new” solid-fuelled intermediate-range hypersonic missile known as Hwaseong-16Na for the first time on 2 April, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on 3 April.  The test firing of the missile – which features a “newly developed” hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) – was aimed at confirming its designed techn...

The US Navy is requesting additional funding for the overhaul work on aircraft carrier USS  John C Stennis  to cover costs associated with the ship's redelivery delay.  (US Navy)    The US Navy (USN) is requesting an additional USD731.7 million for the refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of aircraft carrier USS   John C Stennis  (CVN 74) to cover costs associated with the delayed redelivery date for the ship, according to USN officials and the service's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request doc...

Aircraft carrier   Enterprise  is running 18–26 months behind schedule.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Major US Navy (USN) shipbuilding programmes are running one to three years behind schedule due in a large part to the lack of a sufficient workforce and supply-chain disruptions, according to a 45-day shipbuilding review of these programmes and USN officials who spoke about the review's findings on 2 April during a roundtable media discussion.  While some of these issues are “lingering” Covid impacts, Nickolas Guertin,...

The US Navy and Missile Defense Agency hit a target using the SM-6 Dual II with Software Upgrade. (Missile Defense Agency)  The US Navy (USN) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intercepted an advanced medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) test target using the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Dual II with Software Upgrade (SWUP), the MDA confirmed on 28 March.    Guided-missile destroyer USS   Jack H Lucas  (DDG 125), the first Flight III Aegis destroyer equipped with the new SPY-6 radar, participated in the test as part of its Initial...

Brazilian shipbuilder Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) launched the third unit of the Riachuelo-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK), S Tonelero (S42), on 27 March.  The launch of the S Tonelero (S42) SSK by ICN (a joint venture between Novonor and Naval Group) took place at the Itaguaí Naval Complex.  The submarine is scheduled to be commissioned for Brazilian Submarine Force Command in May 2025, after the vessel completes successful sea trials, the Brazilian Navy told Janes.  S Tonelero is the third of four Riachuelo-class S-BR subm...

A screenshot showing the scaled demonstrator beached during testing. (Steller Systems)  UK ship design house Steller Systems has performed sea trials of a subscale concept demonstrator intended to prove a novel hullform that could be exploited as the basis for a future high-speed offshore insertion craft.  Funded by the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) Novel Amphibious Craft competition, the demonstrator has “successfully proven the innovative features” of a full-scale...

Exail's R7 remotely operated vehicle has been procured for the Belgian Navy. (Exail)  Exail has been contracted to supply six R7 remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the Belgian Navy, the company announced on 2 April.  The ROVs will be used for the inspection and disposal of underwater explosive ordnance, as well as safeguarding harbours, coastal areas, ships, and key infrastructures.  Launched in October 2021, Exail's R7 ROV is a small, compact manportable system designed for operation from small craft such as rigid-hulled inflatable boats...

An Indian Navy Scorpene submarine. Indonesia has signed a contract for two Scorpene Evolved boats, which will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries. (Naval Group)  Naval Group has secured the contract for two lithium-ion batteries-equipped Scorpene Evolved diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) with the Indonesian government.  The contract was secured in collaboration with Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL, Naval Group disclosed in a statement on 2 April.  Under the contract that was inked on 28 March, the two SSKs will be fully built in Indonesia at...

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system (pictured above) is armed with an anti-ship warhead of weight varying between 200 and 300 kg. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Indian Army test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the Akash semi-mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) in two separate exercises that took place in late March.  The BrahMos test was carried out by the Rising Sun missile unit of the Indian Army's Eastern Command in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to a social media post by Eastern Command, the missile hit th...

The Type 12 SSM is pictured (left), being launched from a transporter-erector-launcher vehicle. Images on the right show the system's sensor and control station. (Japanese MoD)  The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has deployed an anti-ship missile (ASM) unit known as the ‘7th Surface-to-Ship Missile Regiment' at the JGSDF's Katsuren camp located at Uruma city in Okinawa Prefecture, the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in late March.  The new unit is equipped with Type 12 coastal-defence surface-to-ship guided missiles, which ar...

Italian Navy Thaon di Revel-class PPA ITS   Francesco Morosini   seen at Langkawi during its 2023 Asia-Pacific tour.  (Janes/Mansasvi Sharma Shanker)  Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced on 28 March that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.27) contract for two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).  However, Indonesia's ability to fund this commitment is presently unclear given the lack of an allocation for this programme in...

The USN CNO noted the need for the development of directed energy weapons, such as the laser system shown in this artist's rendition. (Lockheed Martin)  Recent US Navy (USN) operations in the Red Sea have underscored the importance of logistics, according to Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the USN chief of naval operations (CNO).  Adm Franchetti also noted the importance of developing new weapons and related capabilities to match emerging threats.  The CNO made the comments during a discussion for Defense One that was shown online on 27 March.  “I'v...

An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)  The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).    “The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said i...

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seen here at the handover ceremony of   An Chiang  (625) and   Wan Chiang  (626) on 26 March 2024.   (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)  The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) has received its fifth and sixth Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvettes.  Presiding over the vessels' handover ceremony on 26 March at Yilan was Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen who in an official social media post on the same day described the handover event as “an important step forward for Taiwan'...