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.
Lockheed Martin has received an $184 million contract modification to exercise options for full rate production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 2 systems, the company announced on 11 February.
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will continue providing and upgrading the AN/SLQ-32 systems on US aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships.
The company received an initial $148.9 million full rate production of SEWIP Block 2 systems contract in 2016 with four additional option years to upgrade the fleet's EW capabilities.
SEWIP Block 2 will expand upon the receiver/antenna group necessary to keep capabilities current with the pace of the threat and to yield improved system integration.
                
                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.