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Surface Warfare News

03 Apr 2025

Eureka Naval Craft, Greenroom Robotics Unveil Design for Autonomous Attack Vessel

US defense company Eureka Naval Craft and Australian marine autonomy specialist Greenroom Robotics are set to unveil what they describe as "the most advanced autonomous naval attack vessel ever designed." Credit: Eureka Naval Craft

US defense company Eureka Naval Craft and Australian marine autonomy specialist Greenroom Robotics are set to unveil what they describe as "the most advanced autonomous naval attack vessel ever designed" at the forthcoming Sea Air and Space Exhibition in Maryland, USA, April 6-9, 2025.The AIRCAT Bengal MC (“Module Carrier”) is a 36m multi-mission Surface Effect Ship (SES) and is being developed by Eureka and ESNA Naval Architects with autonomy and AI software supplied by Greenroom.Eureka Naval Craft CEO…

18 Mar 2025

HII Expands Shipboard, Shore-Based Military Training Support

Image courtesy HII

HII's Mission Technologies division won a $147m contract to support shipboard and shore-based combat training services for the U.S. Navy.Under the five-year task order, HII will provide engineering support for every aspect of training systems under the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dam Neck Activity (NSWCDD DNA), including associated hardware, software, subsystems and elements. Tasks will range from integrated training system hardware and software installation…

23 Jan 2025

Kongsberg to Equip Indonesian Navy's New Fast Attack Crafts

(Credit: Indonesian Navy)

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract to supply advanced propulsion and maneuvering technology for two new KCR-70 Fast Attack Craft for the Indonesian Navy.The vessels are currently under construction at the Sefine Shipyard in Türkiye.The Kongsberg Maritime equipment package includes propulsion system that combines twin controllable pitch propeller (CPP) Promas systems for high efficiency at patrol speeds with a single Kamewa waterjet to provide boost power for high-speed operation.The configuration is said to optimize propulsion power…

11 Dec 2024

HII names Childs VP, Quality & Engineering at Ingalls Shipbuilding

Jennifer Childs, HII VP, quality and engineering (c) HII

HII announced that Jennifer Childs has been named vice president of quality and engineering of the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, effective Jan. 6, 2025.She succeeds Brian Blanchette, incoming vice president of HII and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. Childs, a former Navy surface warfare officer (nuclear), has been with Ingalls for 17 years and previously served as director of technical & design engineering. She will now be responsible for the management and oversight of quality programs…

10 Jul 2024

US Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS John Basilone

(Photo: Bath Iron Works)

The U.S. Navy announced it has accepted delivery of its latest Flight IIA Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyer, the future USS John Basilone (DDG 122), on July 8.Built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, DDG 122 will serve as a multi-mission surface combatant capable of conducting Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare.Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate readiness. A tentative commissioning date is scheduled in November.The ship is named after U.S.

24 Jun 2024

Navy Combat Craft - Boats Evolve to Keep Pace with Threats

Ghost, a high-speed stealth boat that was nearly cancelled, has been resurrected.  The low-observable Ghost is a SWATH (small waterplane area twin hull) vessel with a speed of up to 35 knots and a very shallow draft.   General Dynamics Mission Systems has teamed with Juliet Marine Systems to make Ghost configurable as a manned, remote control, and unmanned platform and to integrate the modular payload capability for a broad spectrum of missions. Photo courtesy General Dynamics Mission Systems

Combat craft are used by both large and small navies, and every navy, coast guard or maritime service operates some kind of boats.The U.S. Navy’s boats are used for a variety of tasks from personnel and cargo transport to ship repair and maintenance to environmental response.The combat craft range from pull sized patrol boats down to ridged-hull inflatable boats (RIBs) armed with machine guns. Boats include shipboard RIBs, maritime security boats, dive support boats, workboats…

06 May 2024

Adm. Craig Faller to Chair Surface Navy Association Board

Retired Adm. Craig Faller (Photo: SNA)

Retired Adm. Craig Faller has assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Surface Navy Association (SNA), a nonprofit promoting coordination and communication among military, business and academic communities with an interest in naval surface warfare and forces.Faller succeeds retired Adm. Vern Clark, who has been chairman since 2020.In addition to numerous ashore assignments including Chief of Naval Legislative Affairs; senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense…

22 Aug 2023

MJP to Supply Waterjets for Taiwan's Tuo Chiang-class Corvettes

Photo courtesy MJP

Waterjet propulsion systems manufacturer Marine Jet Power (MJP), along with its authorized representative in Taiwan UDC Marine, announced the continuation of a partnership with Lungteh Shipyard to produce more Tuo Chiang-class Corvette for Coastal Defense.The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes have a length of 60.4 meters, displacement of 685 tons, a range of 1,800 nautical miles, and a maximum speed of 43 knots. To date, four ships have been completed and the additional orders will begin production this fall.Featuring quad MJP 850 CSU waterjets…

25 Jul 2023

Energizing Naval & Coast Guard Missions

US Navy’s DDG 1000 destroyer (image credit, US Navy)

Moises DelToro at GE Vernova’s Power Conversion business, discusses how deploying a Ship’s Electric Grid is a flexible way to accommodate growing energy demands for naval and coast guard vessels.A new age of electrificationWe’re in a new naval era and it is reshaping views about fleet mixes and capabilities. Modern fleets need to be mission-configurable, highly capable for military advantage, adaptable for technology insertion, but still affordable. The growing demand for vessel power is increasingly an enabler for mission systems, not just for platform propulsion.

24 Jul 2023

The Need for [U.S. Navy Shipbuilding] Speed

The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Adriatic Sea, June 23, 2023.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)

The Navy wants, and needs, more ships; but it can’t build them fast enough.While the U.S. Navy aims to achieve a 355-ship fleet, it is decommissioning older (and some not so old) ships at about the same rate it's adding new ones.A Congressional Research Service report stated that, as of April 17, 2023, the Navy included 296 battle force ships. "The Navy projects that under its FY2024 budget submission, the Navy would include 293 battle force ships at the end of FY2024 and 291 battle force ships at the end of FY2028."But there is progress…

18 Jul 2023

U.S. Navy Shipbuilders & Disaggregated, Dispersed Production

The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, USS Columbia (SSN 771) moors alongside the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) in Apra Harbor, Naval Base Guam, Jan. 4.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua M. Tolbert)

With a lame-duck CNO, a divided Congress and the impending launch of the next Presidential election cycle, America’s naval market is locked into something of a fragile and fearful autopilot, cruising inexorably towards whatever excitement 2024 might bring.Materially, don’t expect much change: The demand for naval platforms will continue to outstrip available funding, meaning there will be little movement or growth in America’s major shipbuilding programs of record. The procurement outlines are already set.

19 May 2023

Fincantieri Awarded Contract to Build Fourth Constellation-class Frigate

(Image: Fincantieri)

Marinette, Wis. shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) has been awarded a $526 million contract to build a fourth Constellation class frigate for the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Defense announced. The contract for the lead frigate and nine option ships, signed in 2020, has a cumulative value of $5.5 billion, including post-delivery availability support and crew training. FMM received the $795 million contract for the first frigate in the Constellation class program…

17 Apr 2023

Metal Shark Hires Marshall as Executive VP

Jason Marshall (Photo; Metal Shark)

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark announced it has expanded its executive team with a newly recruited appointment from the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense Naval Surface Warfare Center – Carderock (NSWC). Jason Marshall joins Metal Shark as Executive Vice President – Programs, following a 30 year career with NSWC’s Combatant Craft Division (CCD).Marshall most recently served as CCD’s In-Service Systems Engineering Branch Head (2019-2023), managing the team of project managers and systems engineers responsible for the Navy’s sustainment combatant craft…

09 Feb 2023

US Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS Marinette (LCS 25)

The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) from Lockheed Martin at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

The US  Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) from Lockheed Martin at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wis.“Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Marinette,” said Capt. Andy Gold, LCS program manager. “I look forward to the commissioning of Marinette later this year and recognizing the contribution of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these warships to life, ensuring they are ready to…

26 Jan 2023

Interview: Brendan Smith, President, Seaward Services

Brendan Smith (Photo: Seaward Services)

Brendan Smith brings more than a decade of maritime experience to his role as president of Seaward Services, a marine services company specializing in the operation, maintenance and repair of government and privately owned vessels. The company is part of the Hornblower Group.During his 6.5 years with the U.S. Navy, he served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Santa Fe, and his roles included chemistry and radiological controls assistant (CRA), quality assurance officer (QAO) and combat operations instructor.

26 Jan 2023

3D Printing: Navy Builds Up Additive Manufacturing on Ships

Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) onloads a 3D printer during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 8, 2022.  
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ace Rheaume

The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive, especially for warships at the far end of the supply chain.

28 Dec 2022

Ex-USS Denver Served Until Sunk

Amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9) operates in the Philippine Sea in 2012. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Lacordrick Wilson/Released)

Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before being sunk about 50 miles north of Kauai in about 15…

15 Dec 2022

U.S. Navy: Building the Architecture Framework for New Guided Missile Frigates

An artist’s rendering of the new Constellation (FFG 62)-class guided-missile frigate. Marinette Marine Illustration. (U.S. Navy Photo/Released)

“If we desire to secure peace,” President George Washington once observed, “it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” During the late 1790s, the U.S. government commissioned naval engineers and shipbuilders to design and build large warships capable of agile maneuvering and stowing an excess amount of weapons.With the passing of the Naval Act of 1794, Washington secured the authorization to procure the Navy’s first six frigates – a wooden-hulled, three-masted warship with either a 38 or 44-gun capability.

01 Aug 2022

US Navy Testing Unmanned Capabilities Aboard USNS Apalachicola

USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) (Photo: Austal USA)

The future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) is performing a series of planned test events assessing autonomous capabilities integrated into the shipboard configuration, demonstrating that a large ship can become a self-driving platform.Known as Unmanned Logistics Prototype trials, each test event increases the perception capabilities and complexity of behaviors demonstrated by the autonomous systems. Test evolutions to date include point-to-point autonomous navigation, vessel handling…

13 Sep 2022

Hentschel Joins The Shearer Group, Inc.

Ryan Hentschel (Photo: TSGI)

The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) announced a new addition to its naval architecture, marine engineering & marine surveying firm. Ryan Hentschel has joined TSGI as a naval architect.Hentschel holds a Naval Engineers degree and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His studies focused on naval construction and marine engineering with an emphasis in naval ship design, systems engineering, and DoD acquisition. He is also a certified Engineer-In-Training in the state of Texas.Prior to TSGI…

28 Jul 2022

US Navy: Building Small Combatants to Create Force Structure and Capability

The Littoral Combat Ship has been made more lethal with the addition of the Naval Strike Mis-sile, seen here installed on USS Charleston (LCS 18).   (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign James French)

The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs). Up until recently, ten of them have been serving in the Middle East with the U.S.

11 Aug 2022

US Coast Guard Selects Builder for Over the Horizon Cutter Boats

Over the horizon V cutter boat line drawing. Image courtesy of Inventech Marine Solutions.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it has selected Inventech Marine Solutions of Bremerton, Wash., to build the next generation of over the horizon (OTH V) cutter boats. The first delivery order for four OTH Vs was placed August 3 with a value of $1.973 million. These four OTH Vs will be used for operational test and evaluation before the program moves to full production. The 10-year contract supports delivery of up to 200 boats with a total value of approximately $103 million.Beyond the similarities of speed and weight between the OTH V and the OTH IV it is replacing…

09 Aug 2022

USS Farragut Deploys with George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group

Credit: US Navy

US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) deployed as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) from Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Aug. 6.According to the U.S. Navy, this is a routine deployment for Farragut and the first after a dry-dock maintenance period in 2021.Farragut returned to operational capability in the summer of 2021 and has completed a rigorous training cycle, including a visit from the Congressional Board of Inspection and Survey…

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