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.
Thales has completed the first of six new replacement bow sonar arrays on the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN's) Collins-class submarines, the company announced on 11 March.
The company delivered the first bow sonar array to meet the RAN’s accelerated upgrade of HMAS Waller as part of a programme to extend the Collins-class submarine service life into the 2030s.
The Collins Sonar Capability Assurance Programme (CSCAP) is upgrading the capabilities of the six Collins submarines. The vessel’s current sonar has been in service since the 1980s. The new modular cylindrical array will provide enhanced sonar performance.
The CSCAP programme will now continue to manufacture and deliver the remaining five boat sets over the next five years in advance of the platform schedule.
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.