Almirante Viel will replace its predecessor of the same name (AP-46 “Almirante Viel”, ex Norman McLeod), which was built at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard in Montreal, Canada, in 1969, and then served in the Chilean Navy from 1995 until its decommission in 2019. Its construction represents an important milestone for the Chilean naval industry: it is the first icebreaker to be built in the South Pacific, the biggest ever built in South America (Argentina’s Almirante Irizar is similar in displacement, but was built in Finland), and is now the newest in the continent. The project has costed the ..read more

TKMS press release The 250 invited guests included Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defence, and Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security of the Republic of Singapore, as well as other high-ranking representatives from Singapore and Germany. The sponsor of the boat was Ms. Teo Swee Lian, sister of Teo Chee Hean. “The submarines built in this project are the most modern conventional submarines the world has ever seen. They belong to a new, state-ofthe-art generation and are also the largest submarines built in Germany to date. It is the result of ha ..read more

The ROK Navy’s Recon UUV and Mine Warfare USV project is part of the Navy Sea Ghost concept that was announced in 2022, marking the 77th anniversary of the ROK Navy’s establishment. The Navy Sea Ghost concept is part of the National Defense Revolution 4.0, focuses on MUM-T (Manned-Unmanned Teaming) and represents as ROK military’s mission to advance its capabilities through advanced technology. Hanwha Ocean stated that they have received high evaluation scores for their technology in both UUVs and USVs during this bidding process. Moreover, as this result was achieved through a consortium wit ..read more

The French Navy is in the Philippines to take part in joint maritime activities between Manila, Paris, and Washington in the South China Sea during Balikatan 2024.  The 39th edition of the exercise kicked off today. It will last three weeks and take place in Palawan and Batanes, close to Taiwan and the South China Sea. Balikatan 2024 will also have observers from 14 countries: Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Balikatan: A first for the French Navy French Ambassador to the Philippi ..read more

The historic test took place yesterday (18 April 2024) and involved first ship-in-class Aquitaine (D650) and a Suffren-class nuclear powered submarine (SSN). The frigate was located off Britany while the SSN was cruising in the Bay of Biscay. The two naval cruise missiles simultaneously hit a target located at the DGA’s missile test center South of Bordeaux. Launch of the naval cruise missile form FREMM Aquitaine. French Navy picture. A missile test conducted in operational conditions In a release, the French Navy explained that this test was conducted in operational conditions: “In order to ..read more

Epirus press release Epirus, a high-growth technology company, announced today that the 2024 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise Coastal Trident Program (ANTX-CT24) will include field experiments to investigate the ability of the company’s long-pulse High-Power Microwave (HPM) technology to temporarily disable small vessels powered by outboard motors. The activities, planned and conducted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme’s Office of Technology, will examine the capability of a low-cost, effective and non-lethal option to address the growing threat from seaborne drones. Seaborne d ..read more

Dearsan press release After launching the first 76m Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) for the Nigerian Navy on October 26, 2023; Dearsan Shipyard successfully launched the second vessel on the 19th of April 2024. This launch marks a major step forward in enhancing Nigeria’s maritime defence and security capabilities. The event was graced by the presence of Her Excellency the First Lady of Nigeria Mrs Remi Tinubu, Minister of State for Defence Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, underscoring the importance of this milestone for Nigeria’s naval o ..read more

At the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra, Defence Minister Richard Marles simultaneously unveiled the first ever “National Defence Strategy 2024” (NDS) plus the “Integrated Investment Program 2024” (IIP). The latter was the first release of the IIP since its last public iteration four years ago. The NDS continues on from last year’s Defence Strategic Review, and gives the raison d’être for Australia’s major boost in defence capability. Meanwhile, the IIP lists in detail what will be procured in the next decade, alongside approximate monetary amounts. Lots of money The two document ..read more

The Republic of China (ROC Navy or Taiwanese Navy) plans to establish a new combat command in 2026. The Taiwanese state news agency CNA quoted an unnamed source as saying that the new command, the Littoral Combatant Command (濱海作戰指揮部), will operate under the Naval Command Headquarters. According to LTN’s report, the commanding officer of the Littoral Combatant Command will be a two-star vice admiral of the Taiwanese navy, which is equivalent to the three-star admiral in the US Navy, JMSDF or NATO OF-8. The Littoral Combatant Command will integrate the existing fleet of fast attack boats, toge ..read more

Anduril press release As Anduril moves to deliver an operationally relevant capability within a fraction of traditional defence timelines, early creation and testing of the first Ghost Shark has been critical for rapid learning and iteration. It’s a momentous advancement in the $140M co-development contract between RAN, DSTG and Anduril to design and develop the three ‘Ghost Shark’ extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL-AUV) in three years in Australia. Ghost Shark is a modular, multi-purpose capability that can flexibly respond to the Australian Defence Force’s mission requirements ..read more