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.
The Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) third Keris-class Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) was launched at the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Shipyard in Wuhan, China on 28 October.
The RMN announced that a ship-naming ceremony had been postponed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and this would be carried out simultaneously with the delivery and handover ceremony at the end of September 2021.
Earlier RMN statements had placed delivery of the third and fourth LMS in mid-2021, but unsurprisingly this has been delayed owing to Wuhan being the epicentre of the COVID outbreak. Malaysia also said that the third ship’s crew is scheduled
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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.