APril 2018 news

Naval Forces, Defense Industry, Navy Technology, Maritime Security


Houston Mechatronics announced their revolutionary new subsea robot, Aquanaut. Aquanaut is a multipurpose subsea robot which employs a patented shape-shifting transformation from an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), removing the need for vessels and tethers. The vehicle enables both the efficient collection of data over long distances as well as manipulation of subsea objects at a significantly lower cost than today's technology.

The Peruvian Navy's first landing platform dock (LPD) BAP Pisco (officially classified as a "multipurpose ship" - Buque Multipropósito) started sea trials on April 19, 2018. These builder trials are conducted by Peruvian naval shipbuilding and shiprepair association (Servicio Industrial de la Marina de Guerra del Perú) SIMA in Callao (SIMA Callao).

The Royal Malaysian Navy (Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM or RMN) commissioned two new naval training ships: KD Gagah Samudera (hull number 271) and KD Teguh Samudera (hull number 272). The ceremony took place April 26, 2018 at Lumut naval base in presence of the Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy Admiral Kamarul.

The Russian Navy Northern fleet created a deep-water division. It comprises small nuclear-powered deep-water stations capable of operating at depths of up to six thousand meters. It also has submarine carriers of the craft and a big number of robotized underwater complexes. The secret formation is subordinated directly to the defense minister, the Izvestia daily writes.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully demonstrated aircraft carrier deck handling to include taxi capability and transition to the launch and recovery phases using a Predator® C Avenger® jet aircraft as a surrogate. As part of the proposed MQ-25 solution, GA-ASI has demonstrated that the new carrier-based unmanned tanker can integrate with the complexities of existing flight deck operations.

An underwater system accommodated in a standard sea container is being designed for the Russian navy. It will include an unmanned craft and operator workstations for its remote control. Any warship, including the latest modular corvettes, can carry the container or it can be installed ashore. Experts believe the complex will expand the use of underwater vehicles by the Russian Navy. In particular, it will make seabed survey and mine search more efficient, the Izvestia daily writes.

USS Coronado (LCS 4) successfully completed operational testing of the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) System, Apr. 6. This second phase of testing for Coronado, which began shortly after completion of developmental testing, Feb. 22, involved in port and underway operations with support from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21 and Mine Countermeasure Detachment 6.

The Russian Defense Ministry began preparations to lay a transarctic communications line for the Navy and coastal troops. The fiber-optic cable will connect the Arctic and the Far East. It will begin in Severomorsk and go via Anadyr and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Vladivostok. The new line will transmit major volumes of information real-time. Experts believe the transarctic line will increase the national defense capability, the Izvestia daily writes.

SEA has established itself as one of the leading suppliers of Torpedo Launcher Systems (TLS) in the South East (SE) Asia region following a string of contract successes. Three SE Asian navies have signed up with the torpedo and decoy launching systems specialist, which has built a successful, expanding export market on the basis of its support for the UK Royal Navy.

Airbus Helicopters has secured an additional order of one H225 helicopter from the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), bringing JCG’s H225 fleet to ten units. JCG currently operates three AS332s and five H225s, both from the Super Puma family. With this new order, the customer’s Super Puma fleet will grow to 13 units by March 2021, becoming the largest Super Puma operator in Japan.

The frigate “Federico Martinengo” was delivered April 24, 2018 to the Italian Navy at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia). It is the seventh of a series of 10 FREMM vessels of the FREMM program – Multi Mission European Frigates – commissioned to Fincantieri as part of the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri and 49% Leonardo) is the prime contractor for Italy in the FREMM program, which envisions the construction of 10 units, all already ordered.

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