MEWSIC will be installed on Type 45 destroyers, Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers and future ships. (Photo: Babcock)
The UK Royal Navy’s Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC) electro-magnetic warfare system, which has been designed to protect surface vessels, has passed its critical design review (CDR).
The £100 million (US$123 million), 13-year contract awarded to the industry consortium of Babcock, Elbit Systems UK and QinetiQ in 2021 and completion of CDR will mean the system can move onto manufacture, testing and acceptance.
The CDR was part of the first phase of the wider £500 million Maritime Electronics Warfare Programme and also included on-shore facilities delivering training, trials and acceptance.
Once operational, MEWSIC will allow for increased detection and identification of radar signals over a greater range than currently possible, aiding faster operational decision-making, enhanced situational awareness and improved ship protection.
MEWSIC will lead to the next generation of Radar Electronic Support Measure (RESM) and EW Command and Control (EWC2) equipment being installed on Type 45 destroyers, Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, and the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates being built at Govan and Rosyth shipyards, respectively, in Scotland.
The USN’s Virginia-class SSNs are replacing the old Los Angeles-class SSNs. The Virginia-class SSNs are fitted with the latest sensors and weapons and around 48 submarines are planned, with a total of 38 currently ordered.
VARD and Fincantieri’s announcement to launch the VARD Resilience series came only weeks after Norway’s new long-term 2025–36 defence plan.
Under Project Land 8710 Phase 2, Australia has been seeking to acquire an undisclosed number of Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels to replace the Balikpapan-class. The programme has an estimated value of AU$1.4 billion (US$910 million), with IOC slated for 2032.
The Royal Navy’s Type-23 Duke-class frigates for the UK Royal Navy were designed as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ships but now have a multi-role function. Of the 16 Type 23s built, 12 remain in service with the Royal Navy and will be replaced by the Type-26 frigates before 2035.
The work took place under the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), which has been a collaboration between Austal, Greenroom Robotics, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Warfare Innovation Navy Branch.
The era of southeast Asian submarine modernisation has been in full swing fuelled by growing tensions in the South China Sea.
Connect with us on socials
