Of the 27 Ticonderoga-class cruisers, the first five (Flight I) were decommissioned in 2004, as conversion to Mk 41 vertical silos would have been too costly. The "Ticos" of Flight II (2nd batch) have 122 launch cells (VLS), in which all missiles from the Standard Missile 2, Evolved...
Breaking tradition with consequences: US Navy and the Constellation debacle When the US Navy decided to rely on the Italian FREMM frigate design by Fincantieri for its new FFG-62 Constellation class, this represented a break with 200 years of naval tradition: until then, all major surface combatants had been in-house developments by American shipyards. One reason for this...
All eleven units of the US Navy's John L. Lewis-class fuel supply ships - including those still under construction - bear the names of famous civil rights activists. Not everyone likes that. Now a particularly controversial case is causing a stir: The ship "Harvey Milk", currently in the shipyard, is to be renamed quickly....
Three Avenger-class minesweepers (68 metres, 1,400 tonnes), which date back to the 1990s, are stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Manama, Bahrain, for any minesweeping work that may be required in the Persian Gulf. In order to reduce their magnetic radiation, the hull consists of a wooden shell that...
Too expensive - and not available before 2030 In mid-April, it was announced that the US Navy had unexpectedly cancelled the ambitious project for an airborne hypersonic weapon against sea targets as part of a review of its investment programmes. The project called Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare System (HALO), which was launched in 2021, was previously considered time-critical and...
After Ukrainian surface drones had already managed to take out a combat helicopter before the turn of the year, two further successes followed at the beginning of May: a Su-30 Flanker fighter jet was hit first, followed shortly afterwards by a second. We waited a long time for images of the new Magura V7 drone, a further development of the well-known...
After the launch in February 2024 and the christening of the SS-711 "Hai Kun" (Narwhal, 80 metres, 2,550 - 3,000 tonnes), not much was heard or seen of the project for a nationally developed conventional submarine, which had begun with such vigour. Technical difficulties arose at the start of the harbour acceptance...
At the end of May, the large landing ship "Vladimir Andreyev" was christened in Kaliningrad at the Yantar shipyard as type ship project 11711M in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev. It is a further development of the Ivan Gren class, known for its striking silhouette with the wide, protruding bow and the aft prow...
Philippines: Two new warships for the 127th anniversary of the Philippine Navy Two new ships were officially commissioned to mark the 127th anniversary of the Philippine Navy: The South Korean-built missile frigate "Miguel Malvar" - type ship of a planned duo - and the "Albert Majini", the eighth and first locally manufactured FAIC (Fast Attack Interdictor Craft)...
The watch boats delivered in December to reinforce the Nigerian Patrol Forces were christened and commissioned in the presence of distinguished guests on the occasion of the 69th naval birthday at the Beecroft base in Apapa opposite Lagos Island. The two new Sea Eagle boats (38 metres, 190 tonnes) built in Malaysia and purchased by Singapore...
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