FEBRUARY 2019 news

Naval Forces, Defense Industry, Navy Technology, Maritime Security


On February 27, the Project 22800 (NATO reporting name: Karakurt-class) ‘Tucha’ (Cloud) guided missile corvette was laid down at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard named after M Gorky (a subsidiary of Ak Bars). During the official ceremony, the head of the Navy`s shipbuilding department Rear Admiral Vladimir Tryapichnikov said the service would get no fewer than 18 Project 22800 corvettes with a possible option for several more ships of the type. "These surface combatants will be constructed at the shipyards that are located in the Far East, the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Northwestern Region," said Tryapichnikov, adding that the Navy had already begun training crews for the Project 22800 guided missile corvettes at the service`s Joint Training Center.

The Netherlands Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Thales are developing the Above Water Warfare System (AWWS) for the Royal Netherlands Navy, the first implementation of which will take place on the next generation of its multi-purpose frigates. The M-frigates will be replaced in cooperation with the Belgian Navy. AWWS will protect the Navy against evolving future threats. Vice-Admiral Arie-Jan de Waard, Director of DMO and Gerben Edelijn, CEO of Thales Nederland B.V., are proud of this important step in their cooperation for the future of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The Russian Navy has to engage in a broad range of missions which determine its strength and composition. The Military-Industrial Courier advises which Navy Russia has to have due to the international situation and national development priorities. The Military-Industrial Courier has delivered what is seems to be the best distribution of the Russian ships among its different fleets.

According to TASS, Sprut-N1 new-generation precision navigation radio system (RNS) has been created for the Russian Navy. It will determine geographic location, speed and altitude with a precision superior to that of GLONASS and GPS. The coordinates are determined by ground stations of the system which transmit coded signals to warships and aircraft. The main advantage against satellite navigation is that the signal of the high-tech system cannot be jammed, the Izvestia daily writes.

On February 17, Leonardo announced that its new M-40 target drone flew its first live missions for the Italian Navy in a recent training exercise at an Italian joint armed forces test range. The exercise saw the aircraft carrier Cavour and its complement of AV8B+ fighter aircraft training alongside the Navy destroyer Mimbelli against M-40 drones which were simulating a range of incoming threats.

Search and rescue forces of the Russian Navy have received a series of projects 23370 and 23370M motor boats over the past five years. They were built at the JSC Kampo enterprise near Moscow as part of the shipbuilding program, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Today, the Russian Navy search and rescue forces are to receive 15 project 23370 and 23370M boats to extend their fleet.

India will need more than five years to implement a contract for the construction of project 11356 frigates because it will have to fit the local shipyard with additional equipment first, Anatoly Punchuk, deputy director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation, told TASS. We evoked the Indian construction of 2 Russian Project 11356 frigates on January 31.

On the occasion of IDEX 2019, Thales and Tawazun Economic Council announced the creation of Thales Emarat Technologies, a local entity 100% owned by Thales. The company intends to foster its contribution to the UAE’s ambitions to become a global leader, with outstanding civil infrastructure and defence capabilities underpinned by a strong local industrial technology base to support growth, localization and the industrialization strategies of the UAE.

Belgium and the Netherlands have decided to jointly replace their identical Mine Counter Measures (MCM) capability. Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilders (DSNS), in association with Imtech Belgium, forming the Imtech Belgium - Damen corporation, have submitted their bid to the Belgian MoD which is in charge of the final selection. This bid includes a mothership coupled with 2 different toolboxes.

The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Tulsa (LCS 16), during a 10 a.m. PST ceremony Saturday, February 16, at Pier 30/32 in San Francisco.

HENSOLDT is to equip the second batch of the German Navy’s K130 corvettes with its TRS-4D Rotator naval radar and its MSSR 2000 ID friend-or-foe identification system (IFF). The company was awarded a corresponding order for seven systems of each type from the German procurement authority BAAINBw, which are to be delivered by 2022.

The French large anti-air frigate, the "Chevalier Paul", has come into port (in Toulon, France) to be modernised by Naval Group. This docking takes place only a year after the large anti-air frigate "Forbin" received itself some major improvements. Both are parts of the Italo-French Horizon programme.

Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, publically said the U.S. Navy will pursue its freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea to counter North Korea and China. He also asked US allies to take part to such operations, letting China know the international community does not accept its claims on this area. Meanwhile, PLA urges US to stop its provocative actions.

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