UK’s $1 billion AUKUS support request signals strong ongoing US collaboration
The latest foreign military sales request from the UK has implications for the future of the programme and collaboration between the three nations.
Rendering of the Type 212CD submarine. (Image: Kongsberg)
Active sonar suite and bottom navigation technology from Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to equip the future Type 212 Common Design (CD) submarine for the German and Norwegian navies.
The technology package consists of SA9510S MKII Mine Avoidance and Navigation Sonars (MANS) and a Bottom Navigation System (BNS) comprising EM2040 MIL multibeam echo sounders and an EA640 echo sounder suite.
The company said the contract was awarded ‘through a comparative and thorough process’ governed by the Kongsberg-Thyssen-Atlas JV (kta naval systems) and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), along with other vendors.
Germany and Norway placed a long-awaited contract with TKMS for six Type 212CD submarines worth €5.5 billion ($6.5 billion) in July this year.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that the Type 212CD design is based on the Type 212A X-rudder design already in service with the German and Italian navies.
The latest foreign military sales request from the UK has implications for the future of the programme and collaboration between the three nations.
The USCG plans to award a contract this year for the construction of Homeland Security Cutters. The new vessels will replace the 60-plus-year-old fleet of Light Icebreaking Tugs.
The expansion of the Redstone facility in Alabama will enable Raytheon to increase production of Standard Missiles in the location by 50% and support Washington in refilling stockpiles after recent operations have depleted the Pentagon’s reserves.
Major naval initiatives including the European Patrol Corvette programmes and Norway’s UK partnership-focused purchase of Type 26 frigates point to the growing interest in the advantages of commonality across allied navies.
The UK Royal Navy’s rapid procurement of uncrewed platforms aligns with the force’s strategic shift towards a fleet better equipped to handle modern threats.
The Astute-class submarine’s visit to Australia was the first time maintenance activity on a UK Royal Navy nuclear submarine had been carried out in the country.