Category: News

France supports its defence industry

The Franco-German company Airbus has been awarded a major defence contract by the French government. Its main components are eight H 225M helicopters for the French Air Force, two H 145s for the Sécurité Civile and ten H 160s for the gendarmerie. The navy can expect another prototype of the VSR 700. This Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is currently being developed jointly with Naval Group and the Marine Nationale. This order is officially part of the plan adopted by France in 2020 to stimulate the national aviation industry. As such, the rotorcraft ordered will have significant parts supplied by French companies,...

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Start for number five

The keel of the fifth corvette for Saudi Arabia was laid at Navantia in San Fernando, Spain, on 15 April. The ship is the last unit of the class based on the Avante 2200 design for the oil state. The order, which was signed in 2018, has a total value of around 1.8 billion euros. Three of the corvettes have already been launched. Number four is still under construction and is due to be handed over to its element in July. The corvette is equipped with the Catiz command and weapon deployment system and the Hermesys integrated communication system. MTU engines and Renk gearboxes will provide the propulsion. With a length of 99 metres...

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US Navy receives another LCS

The US Navy has had another littoral combat ship since 17 April. The USS Oakland was officially commissioned in the presence of Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker. The ship of the Independence variant will find its home port in San Diego, California. The Littoral Combat Ships are fast, lightly armed vessels designed for use in coastal areas. Their outstanding feature is their modularisation, which allows them to be converted relatively quickly to meet the requirements of specific missions. Text: mb; Photos: US...

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Will Lürssen soon be building for Australia?

The Lürssen design of the Arafura class (Offshore Combat Vessel, Project Sea 1180) was selected by the Australian government at the end of January as a possible prototype for the Navy's newly planned mine defence and survey capabilities MMCMMS (Maritime Mine Coutermeasures & Military Survey, Project Sea 1905). In addition to the twelve 80-metre OCVs that have already been launched, a further six mine countermeasures and two hydrographic platforms with slightly longer hulls, but with very important common features, would then provide the Australian Navy with a technically and logistically coherent equipment in the boat segment from 2025. In addition to the existing armament components of the OCVs, the extended units are to carry further unmanned and autonomous underwater and surface capability carriers under the stern platform...

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