Category: News

INDIA: Indian Navy missile test

INDIA: Indian Navy missile test

Posted by | 11 Dec 2020 | , , | 0

It must be the big time for missile tests. On 23 October, India released one of its 16 KH-35 Uran missiles from the corvette Prabal (Veer class, Tarantul I) and sank a decommissioned frigate at maximum range (75 miles). Even though the Prabal was only put into service as an Indian replica after 2000, the type of ship and missile still originate from Russian developments of the 1970s. The shooting took place as part of a large-scale manoeuvre to demonstrate the operational readiness of the Indian armed forces, which are facing Chinese troops in the Himalayas in a tense situation....

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FRANCE: Future short-range defence system

FRANCE: Future short-range defence system

Posted by | 11 Dec 2020 | , | 0

At the end of October, the decision on the French Navy's future short-range defence system was made at the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) in Paris. RapidFire, the 40-millimetre TCA 40 compact gun developed by Nexter and Thales with a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute and an effective range of 4000 metres, was selected. Compared to the Phalanx (20 mm) and Goalkeeper (30 mm) systems, which operate according to the Gatling principle, the TCA 40 has a lower rate of fire but is more versatile in terms of range and ammunition variety thanks to the 40-millimetre ammunition: the system selects the optimum ammunition from five different types to suit the threat. Both the centralised control via a command and weapon deployment system...

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CHINA: 170 days at sea without land contact

CHINA: 170 days at sea without land contact

Posted by | 11 Dec 2020 | , , | 0

Since December 2008, the Chinese People's Liberation Navy has been participating in international maritime defence operations in the Gulf of Aden. The last contingent, consisting of the destroyer Taiyuan (Luyang III class, type 052D), the frigate Jingzhou (Jiangkai II, type 054A) and the supply ship Chaohu, returned to its home port of Zhoushan south of Shanghai in mid-October. In the previous six months, the convoy had escorted almost fifty predominantly Chinese cargo ships in the crisis region, travelling 100,000 nautical miles as a trio. Since leaving Zhoushan at the end of April this year, the three ships are said to have had no land contact whatsoever to avoid any possibility of infection: 170 days at sea! Not...

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CHILE: Maritime awareness

CHILE: Maritime awareness

Posted by | 11 Dec 2020 | , | 0

The 350 or so Chinese fishing vessels and factory ships off the Chilean coast this summer have once again emphasised the point: Maritime Domain Awareness! As is customary in other countries, the protection of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is also part of the navy's portfolio - in co-operation with other state institutions and ministries. Chile has an EEZ of 3.2 million square kilometres, which is more than four times the size of Chile's land area and therefore the tenth largest in the world. Performing sovereign tasks here, i.e. ensuring legal behaviour and safeguarding national interests, as well as saving lives, protecting ecosystems and ensuring safe navigation, requires a resourceful and...

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CHILE: Divine service on two sailing school ships

CHILE: Divine service on two sailing school ships

Posted by | 11 Dec 2020 | , , | 0

High noon, 20th October, Magellan Strait in rocky Tierra del Fuego. At one of the narrowest points in the channel, two sail training ships meet that could be sister ships. Both topsail schooners, the Chilean Esmeralda and the Spanish Juan Sebastian De Elcano, originally come from the naval stronghold of Cadiz. The Chilean ship is a replica that was actually intended for the Spanish navy before it was realised that a training ship was also sufficient. Today, 500 years after the first circumnavigation by Magellan and his successor Elcano, both tall ships met in the Bahia de Fortescue and commemorated the brave explorers in a joint service. Where Brother Pedro...

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