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.
Selex has been awarded a contract from Cobham Aviation Services in Australia for the supply of its Seaspray 5000E Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) surveillance radars, as announced on 16 April.
Cobham will use the radar to equip the Challenger CL-604 aircraft which will perform search and rescue (SAR) services for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
The Seaspray 5000E is ideally suited for SAR operations. In addition to its high reliability, compact size and ease of use, the radar’s AESA technology-enables small target detection capability.
Cobham's AMSA SAR contract will run for 12 years from August 2016, when the current contract expires. Under the contract, the company will acquire, modify, commission, operate and maintain four Challenger CL-604 aircraft from bases in Cairns, Melbourne and Perth to provide SAR capabilities over land and at sea. The aircraft will be available for SAR missions by AMSA at short notice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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.