US Coast Guard seeks national and foreign suppliers for light and medium icebreakers
Contracts for new light and medium cutters are expected to be awarded in mid-2026.
AMSC has received a contract to deliver a high temperature superconductor (HTS) based ship protection system (SPS) to be installed on the US Navy’s future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), the company announced on 30 January.
The contract follows a long lead order from the navy announced in September 2017.
The SPS has been designed to reduce the magnetic signature of a ship, in order to reduce the ability of undersea mines to detect and damage the ship.
AMSC’s SPS reduces the weight of the degaussing system by 90% and reduces energy consumption by more than half that of legacy degaussing systems.
Contracts for new light and medium cutters are expected to be awarded in mid-2026.
The new underwater vehicle has been described as an “important deterrent” thanks to its ability to operate undetected for extended periods of time.
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Arpatuuq construction is in the block manufacturing phase. Once built, it will be the largest vessel in the Coast Guard’s inventory.
NAVSEA plans to select up to three suppliers for the concept design phase of the programme in Q2 FY2026.
As services like the Royal Navy and US Navy aim to develop hybrid fleets to reduce reliance on and dangers to crewed vessels, L3Harris, Metal Shark and Red Cat step forward.
Hanwha Ocean’s Jang Yeong-sil is the Republic of Korea Navy’s first 3,600t submarine and is the first of three boats in the military’s KSS-III programme.