• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Israeli USV programme hits the rocks

  14th April 2020

  The Israeli Navy has terminated a programme to use unarmed and armed unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for maritime patrol missions. Unmanned underwater systems remain under …

• Naval Warfare

  HII starts fabrication of Harrisburg (LPD 30)

  17th April 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has begun the fabrication of the USN’s 14th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, USS Harrisburg (LPD 30). In a statement released by …

• Naval Warfare

  USN selects MS-177A sensor provider

  16th April 2020

  The legacy Goodrich Corporation business of Raytheon Technologies has secured a $19.90 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the MS-177A Naval Maritime Experiment Programme. The contract covers …

• Naval Warfare

  HII set to build next USN amphibious transport dock

  6th April 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has been awarded a $1.5 billion fixed-price-incentive modification to a previous contract for the construction of an amphibious transport dock LPD …

• Naval Warfare

  Coronavirus lacerates Thai naval spending

  21st April 2020

  The COVID-19 outbreak has now struck down the annual budget of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), which is being slashed by a third. In total, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aussie Seahawk starts LHD trials

  7th April 2020

  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has begun flight trials of the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter off the coast of Queensland. The trials, involving the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) …

• Naval Warfare

  Serious Chinese shenanigans persist in South China Sea

  24th April 2020

  One might have hoped that China would desist from its aggressive territorial claims and military activities in the South China Sea during the COVID-19 crisis. …

• Naval Warfare

  China takes advantage as Western carrier operations struggle

  21st April 2020

  With aircraft carriers of both the US and French navies returning to port following outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus on board, eyes are turning to …

• Naval Warfare

  Latest pieces fit into the Type 31 frigate jigsaw

  29th April 2020

  The award by Babcock of the second batch of supply chain contracts for the Royal Navy’s planned Type 31 frigates has provided additional details and insight into …

• Naval Warfare

  China adds to SSBN fleet

  30th April 2020

  The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) celebrated its 71st anniversary on 23 April, and ahead of the milestone commissioned two new Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing to deliver more MQ-25 refuelling UAS for USN

  3rd April 2020

  Boeing has been awarded a contract modification to provide three more MQ-25 unmanned refuelling aircraft for the USN, bringing the total order number to seven. …

• Air Warfare

  US orders 78 new F-35 combat aircraft

  1st April 2020

  USN Naval Air Systems Command has placed an order worth $4.7 billion for 78 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin. The fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, firm-fixed-price …

• Air Warfare

  USN orders two E-2D AHE aircraft and extended services

  2nd April 2020

  Northrop Grumman has secured a fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract modification worth $404 million from the USN’s Naval Air Systems Command. The contract covers procurement of two new …

• Naval Warfare

  HII begins fabrication of latest Arleigh Burke destroyer

  9th April 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has started the fabrication of the USN’s Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128). This means that …

• Naval Warfare

  US plans reserve status for unwanted Littoral Combat Ships

  30th March 2020

  The first four of the USN’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) – two of each variant – will be decommissioned from service by the end of …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft Procurement [Italy]

  Programme Background In an appearance before the Italian parliament’s Foreign and Defence Affairs Committee on 14 July 2022, Italian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Adm ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey (USN)

  Programme Background Requirement According to USN FY2023 Budget Estimate documentation, the V-22 programme provides an aircraft to meet the amphibious and vertical assault needs of ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirement The USN wants to acquire carrier-capable loyal wingman drones. These drones will have a high level of autonomy, allowing them to work alongside crewed ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4 Triton (Announced/Contracted) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent real-time intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USMC)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• MPVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk [Taiwan]

  Programme Background Taiwan operates seven MD500 helicopters, acquired in 1977, from ex-US Chi Yang-class (Knox) frigates that are being decommissioned after 40-year service life. The ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-25 Stingray (Selected) [USA]

  Programme Background Initial Requirments - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) Despite the abovementioned goal, the programme did not begin with this in ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Blackwing (Second Batch) [USA]

  Programme BackgroundFirst Batch The Blackwing originated from a 2013 initiative to develop a low-cost submarine-launched UAS for the US Navy. Following successful tests with the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  LCAC 100 Class (SSC) [USN]

  Programme Background Timeline The major role of the SSC will be deployment from landing ships in support of USN and USMC operations and the transport ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - maritime

  SH-3 Sea King

  The SH-3 Sea King is a twin-engine, amphibious, multirole helicopter developed for the USN as a shipborne ASW platform. The initial prototype made its first ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  SH-2G Super Seasprite

  The SH-2G Super Seasprite is an upgraded version of the SH-2F and has Kaman’s patented servo flap main rotor control system.  Designed to meet the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  S-61T

  Developed as an ASW platform for the USN, the S-61 first flew in 1959. Although it has now been phased out of USN service, more ...

• Military - USVs

  Sea Hunter

  Sea Hunter is an autonomous Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) developed by Leidos for the US Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR). The USN designates the 40m long trimaran ...

• Air: sonar systems

  AN/AQS-22 ALFS

  The AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low-Frequency Sonar (ALFS) is the primary undersea warfare sensor for the USN MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission helicopter. It is designed by Raytheon and ...

• Military - USVs, Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Milkor ASW

  The Milkor ASW vessel is intended to perform underwater operations against submarine threats. In addition to this, the boat can also be prepared to operate ...

• Multipurpose missiles

  RPK 6/7

  The RPK family of missiles is developed and produced in Russia, specifically designed for ASW. The RPK-6, also known as Vodopad (Водопад, 'waterfall'), is a ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  ITAS

  Northrop Grumman is a major producer of tactical information management systems for maritime patrol, ASW, ASuW, SAR and related applications. The Northrop Grumman AN/ASN-150 and ...

• Air: sonar systems

  AN/AQS-13F

  The AN/AQS-13F is a long-range active scanning sonar designed by L3Harris for ASW operations.

• Frigates

  Bergamini Class (FREMM)

  The Bergamini-class frigates for the Italian Navy are based on the Franco-Italian, European, multipurpose frigate design FREMM (European multi-mission Frigate/Fregata europea multi-missione). For Italy, the ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  2800 ASW Patrol Boat

  The 2800 ASW Patrol Boat, developed by Couach, is a vessel designed for ASW operations. Unveiled at the 2022 World Defence Show, the vessel can be ...

• Military - UUVs

  Snakehead LDUUV

  The Snakehead Large Displacement Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) is a US Navy (USN) Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) designed to be launched from submarine Dry Dock Shelters ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Sea: tactical training

  Proteus ASW and Sonar Trainer

  The Proteus ASW and Sonar Trainer expands the Action Speed Tactical Trainer’s sonar capability with new sonar simulations to create a dedicated ASW trainer. Various ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class FFG(X)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...