Navy Lookout – HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s only ice patrol ship, was towed into Devonport by tugs today for, what officials say is to allow “investigations into a defect to take place”. She remains part of the fleet for now, but it is likely she is beyond economical repair.
Navy Acquiring Undersea Drone Drawing Power from Water
National Defense Magazine – An underwater drone that harvests energy from temperature shifts in the ocean is gearing up to help the Navy continuously monitor the vast undersea domain.
(Thanks to Alain)
Will The German Navy’s F127 Frigate Displace Other Procurements Over High Cost?
Naval News – Expenditures in the double-digit billion-euro range associated with the procurement of eight F127 air defence frigates now trigger concerns among the other German service branches that their own projects could be sacrificed.
Euronaval 2024 – BlackBird, a submarine-deployed UAS from Alseamar
European Defence Review – Capable to perform different types of mission, depending on its payload, the BlackBird, under development by Alseamar, exploits the capabilities of the company X-SUB expendable buoys to increase the boat captain situational awareness.
(Thanks to Alain)
U.S. Army Stands Up New Indo-Pacific Task Force
USNI News – The U.S. Army recently activated a task force designed to coordinate missile salvos and break enemy area denial networks in the service’s latest effort to strengthen its Indo-Pacific posture.
Seeing Systems unveils Reaver drone carrier
UK Defence Journal – A British company has launched an uncrewed vessel designed to carry, launch and recover as many as a hundred strike drones, controlled with the boat itself through a single command and control layer.
(Thanks to Alain)
EU sanctions shipyards and design bureaus key to Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet
The Barents Observer – Russia’s nuclear submarine industry is a key target of the EU’s largest-ever sanctions package against Moscow. The measures target the Sevmash and Zvezdochka shipyards in Severodvinsk, as well as Shipyard No. 82 near Murmansk, alongside several design bureaus and companies in the submarine supply chain.
U.S. destroyer enters Spanish dry dock, a first in Europe
Defence Blog – USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) entered dry dock at Navantia’s Cadiz shipyard on Oct. 7, the first such docking for a Europe-based U.S. destroyer in the region.
(Thanks to Alain)
U.S. Navy to Integrate LRASM into USAF’s B-52 Strategic Bombers
Naval News – The U.S. Navy announced plans to contract Lockheed Martin to integrate AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) on the Air Force’s B-52 strategic bomber. This is the latest development from the U.S. military this year to enhance and showcase its aerial maritime strike capabilities.
French Navy Intercepts and Boards Shadow Fleet Tanker ‘DF Peak’ South of Réunion
Naval News – The French Navy (Marine Nationale) has intercepted and boarded the Shadow Fleet oil tanker DF Peak in the Indian Ocean, more than 450 nautical miles south of Réunion Island
Tag, You’re It: Modernizing Naval Maintenance Starts With the Tagout Process
CIMSEC – The Navy is taking steps toward a technical revolution in advanced 3D modeling for vessel design and construction and in logistics software integration enabling smarter maintenance planning. But the revolution is missing a critical objective: improve the day-to-day lives of the sailors maintaining these vessels by tackling what takes up too much of their time and incurs them too much unmitigated risk. This can be done by leveraging existing CAD models, user-interfaces, and AI/ML algorithms, to digitize the existing labor intensive and risk-fraught paper tagout process. Tackling the tagout process with smart software can lead to further time saving and risk reducing advancements in maintenance planning in port and better repair triage at sea.
HMS Dragon returns home after controversial 7-month deployment to the Middle East
Navy Lookout – Dragon’s ship’s company responded to an emergency at a week’s notice, spent seven months operating close to an active war zone and brought the ship home after doing everything asked of them. The deployment was a success for the people involved, but it also demonstrated that the RN is really now too small to be able to exert sustained strategic effect or contribute significantly to allied operations, especially beyond Europe.
October Sees Near Daily Strikes on Ships in Hormuz
USNI News – A ship has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz nearly every day this month, according to the International Maritime Organization.
USS Abraham Lincoln Comes Home With Its Island Superstructure Covered In Kill Marks
The War Zone – The drone and ship kill marks visualize the role the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group played in the fight with Iran.
Japan Launches Seventh Taigei-Class Submarine as Nuclear Propulsion Debate Grows
Naval News – On October 8, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) launched the seventh Taigei-class diesel-electric attack submarine, “Shogei” (しょうげい), for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), as Japan considers nuclear propulsion as a possible option for its future submarines.
Navy Doubles Down On X-BAT VTOL ‘Fighter’ Drone Development
The War Zone – X-BAT flight testing is getting closer on the horizon, and an extremely ambitious timeline to reach an operational capability has been revealed.
Arming Taiwan: America First in Action
CIMSEC – Taiwan’s ability to independently support itself is integral to its survival but also clearly aligns with America’s national interests. Arming Taiwan is an America First policy; the reinvigoration of American global power is enhanced by enabling Taiwan to defend itself.
MoD increasingly vague on when Royal Navy will get Type 31 frigates
Navy Lookout – The Ministry of Defence is now refusing of offer any in-service date for the RN’s Type 31 frigates. In its latest statement on the programme is says that costs are rising and makes a further retreat from the firm dates that once defined the project.
The Navy’s Missing Welders Are Stocking Shelves
War on the Rocks – The yards are still 174,000 workers short. Recent wage increases only reached people already in shipyard jobs, not the larger pool who never applied and cannot afford unpaid months of training. What nobody has tried yet is recruiting a cashier at a mall forty miles away with the same money. Reaching that cashier or other would-be shipyard workers will require an intermediary that pays them during the intermediate training period between jobs, and no such broker yet exists. The Navy can close this gap by measuring programs on whether they reach new entrants, redirecting advertising money to pay trainees while they learn, and letting each shipbuilding region name one accountable intermediary to broker that training.
U.S., Japanese Forces to Rehearse Defense of Japan’s Southwest Islands
USNI News – U.S. and Japanese forces will amass in Japan’s southwest region to rehearse island defense as part of the annual Keen Sword exercise later this month.
U.S. Navy orders $123M more Lionfish underwater drones
Defence Blog – The U.S. Navy has ordered another $123.4 million worth of Lionfish small underwater drones.
Lionfish is the U.S. Navy’s name for HII’s REMUS 300, a torpedo-shaped autonomous vehicle that two people can carry and launch. HII says the design can dive to 305 meters (1,000 feet) and run missions of up to 30 hours, and that it supports mine countermeasures, intelligence and surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare. Its modular body is built to take different sensor payloads, and it replaces the Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish, an older vehicle based on HII’s smaller REMUS 100.
(Thanks to Alain)
Exercise Strike Warrior 2026 puts NATO firepower behind UK Commandos
Navy Lookout – More than 2,000 personnel are taking part in UK-led NATO Exercise Strike Warrior 2026. Although Royal Navy warship participation has been minimal, the exercise has seen significant Royal Marine activity, including commandos deploying from a German submarine, directing naval gunfire and conducting amphibious, reconnaissance and strike missions.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Army order more Phalanx guns
Defence Blog – Raytheon has won a $247.1 million contract to build, upgrade and overhaul Phalanx close-in weapon systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, covering the shipboard gun, its land-based counterpart and the missile-armed SeaRAM.
(Thanks to Alain)
Anduril to Build New Submarine Component Facility
USNI News – Defense technology company Anduril will build a new facility in Maryland focused on submarine component construction for the U.S. Navy’s attack boats.
U.S. Navy buys more 30mm guns to shoot down drones
Defence Blog – The U.S. Navy has awarded British-owned MSI Defence Systems a $197 million contract for 30mm deck gun mounts and the electro-optical sights that aim them, the weapons the service is fitting to its warships to shoot down small drones and fast attack boats.
(Thanks to Alain)
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