Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PAL recently held a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the official start of construction of a new frigate ordered by the Indonesian Navy. The vessel will be a variant of the Type 31 or Inspiration-class that is being built for the UK Royal Navy by defence technology...
Many maritime pundits these days express the view that aircraft carriers are doomed. The ships are too large, too vulnerable, and increasingly irrelevant, they say. Others, however, opine that with their long range, sustainable high speed, endurance, hitting power, and surveillance and command and...
The Royal Navy has unveiled plans to acquire six examples of a new type of amphibious ship to support Royal Marines Commando operations. The new multi-role support ships (MRSS) will replace the Albion-class landing platform docks HMS Albion (pictured) and HMS Bulwark, the Royal Navy’s current...
The Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Trent has seized cocaine shipments worth £204 million (US$254 million) during a recent nighttime interception in the Caribbean Sea, the navy confirmed late last week. The ship has seized £511 million (US$638 million) worth of narcotics across five...
China’s headlong maritime expansionism depends heavily upon achieving dominance of the South China Sea (SCS) and its environs. This dominance demands the establishment of control of many areas of the sea that are currently claimed by other nations. Beijing’s chosen tools to negate such claims are...
The UK Royal Navy formally named its sixth Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine in a ceremony on Tuesday, April 23. The future HMS Agamemnon is under construction at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness facilities. It is the sixth Royal Navy vessel to bear the name. Once completed, the submarine will...
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have resumed their attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden following a lull of more than two weeks, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed. CENTCOM said in an update via X (formerly Twitter) that, at 11:51 local time on Wednesday, April 24,...
The UK Royal Navy has confirmed that a new type of laser weapon under development will be installed on one of the service’s warships in 2027. The DragonFire laser weapon will be added to the Royal Navy’s array of air defence weaponry, which includes the Sea Viper and Sea Ceptor missile systems that...
The Australian government has selected UK defence firm BAE Systems and South Australia-based shipbuilder ASC for the construction of Australia’s new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS trilateral security pact between the United States, the UK, and Australia. Under the AUKUS...
The Royal Navy has launched an investigation into a fire incident that occurred aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth while it was moored at a naval base in Scotland earlier this month. The incident occurred at around 23:50 local time on March 8 while the carrier was tied alongside an...