FEBRuary 2018 news

Naval Forces, Defense Industry, Navy Technology, Maritime Security


On February 20th 2018, the President of the Federal Republic of Brazil, Michel Temer, participated to the transfer of the first Scorpene Brazilian Navy submarine to the main building of the construction site located in Itaguaí in the Sepetiba Bay. The three sections of the Scorpene submarine, the Riachuelo, have been presented to the Brazilian authorities.

The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) released an interesting video showing the accommodation and living standards aboard its FREMM Frigates. ITS Marceglia is the newest unit launched within the FREMM programme. This state-of-the-art vessel - result of a synergy between the national shipbuilding industry and the Italian Navy – implements cutting edge marine engineering aimed at providing competitive defence capabilities in complex international scenarios, while ensuring high safety and liveability standards.

AUSTAL today celebrated the US$15 million dollar fixed price contract for the Guided Missile Frigate FFG(X) Concept Design. The contract will develop the Austal Frigate design to meet the FFG(X) system specification with the goal of reducing cost, schedule, and performance risk for the follow-on detail design and construction contract.

The proportion of advanced military hardware operational with the Russian Navy’s coastal-based forces makes up 96 percent, Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Korolyov said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. This figure was achieved after the coastal-based forces were rearmed with Bal (NATO reporting name: SSC-6 Sennight) and Bastion (SSC-5 Stooge) coastal-based missile systems, he added.

The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $15 million contract to mature its Freedom-variant Frigate design as a part of the Navy's FFG(X) competition. Lockheed Martin submitted its Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) parent design in response to the U.S. Navy's FFG(X) conceptual design solicitation with Fincantieri Marinette Marine as its shipbuilder and Gibbs & Cox as its naval architect.

ECA Group is part of a winning consortium OCEAN2020, a project related to the first European Defence Found’s initiative to boost Europe's defence capabilities, issued by the European Union under the ‘Preparatory Action on Defence Research’ programme. The competitive selection was conducted by the European Defence Agency.

MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.), announced on Feb. 13 that it has signed a contract valued at approximately CA$8 million with Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) to provide Maritime Miniature Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MMUAS).

The main propulsion diesel engine of the Admiral Gorshkov guided missile lead frigate of project 22350 broke down during acceptance trials, a Navy source told FlotProm online publication. The warship returned to Severnaya verf shipyard with one operational engine after the breakdown on December 23, 2017. The source did not provide any details.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) is proud to announce its MQ-25 Stingray offering to the U.S. Navy in collaboration with a range of highly regarded industry partners that represent the best in American aerospace. The MQ-25 Stingray unmanned carrier aviation air system (UCAAS), formerly the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS), is a planned unmanned aerial system designed to conduct aerial refueling missions with a secondary ISR role.

BAE Systems has received a $9.6 million contract from the U.S. Navy to modernize the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58). The ship will undergo 10 months of work at the company’s Jacksonville, Florida, shipyard and at nearby Naval Station Mayport. This docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to approximately $72 million.

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