Subsea Defense News

On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises.The 12-day 'Freezing Winds' drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defence alliance's protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia.

The damaging of two undersea telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea should be presumed to be sabotage, Germany said on Tuesday, while Lithuania's armed forces boosted surveillance of its waters in response."No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. I also don't want to believe in versions that these were ship anchors that accidentally caused the damage," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said before a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels.Two fibre-optic cables - one linking Finland and Germany…

Two undersea fibre-optic communications cables in the Baltic Sea, including one linking Finland and Germany, were severed, raising suspicions of sabotage by bad actors, countries and companies involved said on Monday.The episode recalled other incidents in the same waterway that authorities have probed as potentially malicious including damage to a gas pipeline and undersea cables last year and the 2022 explosions of the Nord Sea gas pipelines.The 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) cable connecting Helsinki to the German port of Rostock stopped working around 0200 GMT on Monday…

Babcock has awarded the recycling contract to KDC Veolia Decommissioning Services UK (KDCV) as part of U.K.’s demonstrator project to fully dismantle a nuclear-powered submarine Swiftsure.Babcock is working with the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) and KDCV on the demonstrator dismantling project, applying a new and innovative methodology which will enable around 90% of the structure and components to be reused or recycled.This includes the pressure hull around the reactor compartment…

EDGE and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the design, development, and creation of advanced manned and unmanned underwater systems solution capability through their recently launched UAE-based shipbuilding joint venture MAESTRAL.The preliminary agreement will pave the way and boost for developing sophisticated solutions tailored to the unique underwater needs of navies worldwide.The collaboration marks EDGE’s first venture into underwater domain…

General Dynamics Mission Systems has been awarded a $15.9 million contract by the U.S. Navy to develop its Mining Expendable Delivery Unmanned Submarine Asset (MEDUSA) system.MEDUSA is a tactical, clandestine mining system using an expendable Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) that can be launched from a submarine torpedo tube. The U.S. Navy is developing MEDUSA to address the need for an advanced maritime mining system with long-range offensive mining capabilities.The scope of the newly awarded research and development effort includes the design…

China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday that it had retrieved spying devices both on the ocean surface and in the depths of the sea, including underwater "lighthouses" that could guide the transit of foreign submarines.The ministry said it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle," in an article on its official WeChat account, China's most popular social media app.Recent…

Singapore commissioned two new advanced submarines on Tuesday, vessels its navy says are meant to protect sea lines of communication, and which experts said would range beyond the waters of the tiny city-state to keep tabs on the region.The country's fifth and sixth submarines, the Invincible and the Impeccable, were ordered from Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in 2013 in a 1-billion-euro deal, and join older Archer- and Challenger-class boats.They represent a technological step forward for Singapore's fleet…

A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine will undergo maintenance in Australia for the first time on Friday, a key step by AUKUS partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the defense ministers of Australia, Britain and the United States said.Australian personnel trained with the United States and Britain over the past year ahead of the submarine maintenance at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, involving personnel from the three nations."Our navies are committed to reinforcing…

Greensea IQ announced an extension to its prototype (Other Transaction Agreement) with the Defense Innovation Unit and U.S. Navy following the successful completion to Phase 3 of the Autonomous Expeditionary Maritime Response Vehicle (AEMRV) prototype last fall.The objective of this contract modification is to demonstrate a production-ready edge processing configuration of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Workspace, called EOD Edge, deployed in Greensea’s IQNS, with the autonomy and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) components.

One of the U.S. Navy’s newest attack submarines, the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), launched from General Dynamics Electric Boat’s Groton, Ct. shipyard into the Thames River, August 6.The "float off," or launch, is a milestone in a submarine's construction, marking the moment it leaves the shipbuilder's facilities and enters the water for the first time, signaling the start of final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Today’s launch is testament to the strong collaboration the Navy has with its shipbuilding partners,” said Capt. Mike Hollenbach, Virginia Class Submarine program manager.

Mark Rayha has been selected to become the next president of Electric Boat, the submarine builder's parent company General Dynamics announced on Thursday.Rayha, who serves as the yard's current senior vice president and chief operating officer, will succeed Kevin Graney, who will retire at the end of this year. Rayha's appointment becomes effective December 1.Rayha joined General Dynamics in 1989 at Land Systems. He became CFO of General Dynamics Mission Systems in 2015. He joined Electric Boat in 2020 and served as CFO from 2021 to 2023.

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center (USCG-RDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as a stepping stone towards collaborative research and development on top-of-mind technologies impacting the maritime industry.Activity under the MoU can include developing joint research publications, new technology qualifications and information sharing in a variety of research areas including remote and autonomous systems for uncrewed surface and underwater vehicles…

Canada, looking to shore up its defense of the Arctic, is moving ahead to acquire up to 12 submarines and has started a formal process to meet with manufacturers, the defense ministry said.Canada updated its defense policy this year with a focus on protecting the Arctic and dealing with challenges from Russia and China. The procurement of submarines is a critical step in implementing that strategy, the defense ministry said in a statement.Citing global warming, Canada says the Arctic Ocean could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and East Asia By 2050…

Germany and eight other countries on the Baltic Sea aim to jointly procure naval mines, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday, as Russia is taking an increasingly assertive stance in the Baltic Sea region.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Pistorius said Russia had been challenging the borders in the Baltic Sea time and again."Just recently we have seen how Russia tries to extend Russian territorial waters outside Kaliningrad.

On a website run by the Ukrainian security service, donors anywhere in the world can pledge money to build Ukraine's cutting-edge "Sea Baby" unmanned maritime drones.It is a slick, professional site offering donors the chance to sign up for newsletters or even name the drone themselves if they donate the full $220,000 cost.Only six meters (20 feet) long and 60 cm (two feet) high above the water level, the craft can carry up to 850 kg of explosives up to 1,000 km (620 miles), often…

Survitec won a multi-year servicing contract from Sojitz Aerospace, on behalf of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), to service Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE) MK11 suits carried on board its submarine fleet.With this contract, the company sets a new precedent, establishing an in-country servicing capability to accommodate the JMSDF’s SEIE servicing and maintenance requirements through a strategic partnership with Kawasaki head-quartered Marinair Liferaft Co. Ltd.Marinair Liferaft Co.

Ukraine has equipped some of its naval drones with multiple rocket launching systems and used them to fire at Russian positions in combat, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters on Wednesday.Ukraine, which no longer has any significant warships in its fleet, has used uncrewed naval drones packed with explosives to sail up to Russian warships in the Black Sea, detonating on impact.The systems have played a part in Kyiv's effort to push back Russian naval vessels from areas of the Black Sea used by commercial vessels to ship Ukrainian exports.The Ukrainian source, who declined to be named,

Groton, Conn. submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat hosted a christening ceremony for the U.S. Navy's new Virginia-class submarine Idaho (SSN 799) March 16.Idaho is the 26th submarine in the Virginia class, designed for the full range of 21st-century mission requirements, including anti-submarine and surface ship warfare and special operations support. Electric Boat and its partner Newport News Shipbuilding share construction of the Virginia class in a teaming agreement. Idaho is the 13th submarine in the class to be delivered by Electric Boat.The submarine will be the fourth U.S.

The U.S. Navy's efforts to build a fleet of unmanned vessels are faltering because the Pentagon remains wedded to big shipbuilding projects, according to some officials and company executives, exposing a weakness as sea drones reshape naval warfare.The lethal effectiveness of sea drones has been demonstrated in the Black Sea where Ukraine has deployed remote-controlled speed boats packed with explosives to sink Russian frigates and minesweepers since late 2022.Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have employed similar vessels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months…

Defense company Babcock Intern has been grated validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its science-based near and long-term emissions reduction targets aligned with reaching net-zero no later than 2050.In 2021, Babcock launched its Plan Zero 40 decarbonization strategy, which commits to the delivery of a 2030 science-based target in line with a 1.5 °C pathway and achieving 90% emissions reduction across its estate, assets and operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2040…

The U.S. Navy embarked the first Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP) aboard USS Canberra (LCS 30), April 18, service officials announced. With the MCM mission package now onboard LCS 30, the Navy anticipates the first MCM Mission Package deployment in Fiscal Year 2025.As part of the embark process, the Navy installed sensors, unmanned vehicles, support containers and the software that enables Sailors to execute MCM operations from an Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship.

Saipem and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate commercial and industrial opportunities for cooperation in the field of autonomous subsea vehicles (AUV) and their integration with surface and underwater units.The MoU is among the initiatives aimed at promoting and developing Italy’s national excellence in the underwater sector.The agreement aims to enable the two companies to participate in major programs in the Italian and international markets in the area of surveillance and control of critical underwater infrastructure and rescue activities…