Second rMCM vessel begins sea trials, advances autonomous minesweeping
The rMCM programme will ultimately comprise of 12 vessels, six each working for the Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The port of Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo, will be secured by a Leonardo-Finmeccanica integrated maritime system under a contract announced on 18 November.
The €150 million contract was issued by the Congolese government to the Italian Alliance for Ports (IA4P), which is led by Leonardo-Finmeccanica; the company’s portion of the contract equals around €30 million.
Leonardo will provide systems for both maritime and land-based security which will employ radar and electro-optical sensors, communications systems, logistics management and port operations systems.
The wider agreement includes civil work including the construction of new docks for a total length of 700m as well as further engineering and design work and project management.
The contract is part of an agreement between the Italian and Republic of Congo governments which involves the development of a ‘multi-modal’ integrated transport system in the Congo basin covering river, sea and rail transport.
A second phase of the project will extend the maritime surveillance at Pointe Noire to cover the Republic of Congo’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) via an integrated system that will include radar sensors and a secure telecommunications network.
The rMCM programme will ultimately comprise of 12 vessels, six each working for the Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The US Government has awarded a significant contract to move along its Polar Security Cutter programme.
The deal, which has been planned since August 2024, is part of an ongoing attempt to bolster Australia’s defences against the potential of Chinese aggression.
Four shipbuilders have been downselected to build the frigate replacement programme, and TKMS hopes the new deal will give it a geographical advantage.
The tripartite submarine project is under political pressure from a grass-roots Australian Labor Party movement, but it could also have practical issues in its way.
DDG 129, which will become the USS Jeremiah Denton on commissioning, was moved to dry dock to begin its technical fitting and testing.