US and European special operators test Icelandic AI-based solution for marine platforms
Hefring Marine IMAS was designed to optimise vessels’ operation.
Austal has received construction contracts from the US Navy to build two additional Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), the company announced on 18 September.
These ships will be the sixteenth and seventeenth ships in the class. The value of each contract is under the congressional cost cap of $584 million per ship.
The 127m, frigate-sized vessel was originally designed in the Austal centre for excellence in maritime design, based in Henderson, Western Australia. The vessel design has been transferred to Austal USA and they are built at Austal's Mobile, Alabama shipyard.
Construction of LCS 32 is scheduled to begin in 2019, with delivery of LCS 34 expected to occur in mid-fiscal year 2023.
Hefring Marine IMAS was designed to optimise vessels’ operation.
The small, unmanned surface vehicle will operate this year in multiple operations and military exercises worldwide.
The contract was awarded to HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division and General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB). As well as for the building of the boats, contract money will also go towards improving productivity at the shipyards, workforce support and other investment.
The approved purchase is for Tomahawk Block IV and Block V missiles, control systems, telemetry missiles and communication and broadcast systems.
The Philippine Navy is fast-tracking its maritime modernisation with new warships, unmanned platforms, and international shipbuilding partnerships to bolster its regional deterrence posture.
Taiwan is strengthening its deterrence against the PLA through an asymmetric arsenal that includes fast mine-laying vessels and domestically developed UAVs.