US and European special operators test Icelandic AI-based solution for marine platforms
Hefring Marine IMAS was designed to optimise vessels’ operation.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has accepted delivery of its 27th fast response cutter (FRC), Richard Snyder, in Key West, Florida, the agency announced on 9 February.
The 154ft Sentinel class cutter will be the first FRC to be stationed in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and is scheduled to be commissioned in April 2018.
The new cutters are replacing the 110ft Island class patrol boats. To date, 44 of the 58 FRCs planned by the USCG have been ordered. Twenty-five FRCs are already in service.
The cutters have improved habitability and seakeeping and over-the-horizon cutter boat launch and recovery from astern or via side davits. They have an endurance of five days and can reach a maximum speed of over 28 knots.
Hefring Marine IMAS was designed to optimise vessels’ operation.
The small, unmanned surface vehicle will operate this year in multiple operations and military exercises worldwide.
The contract was awarded to HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division and General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB). As well as for the building of the boats, contract money will also go towards improving productivity at the shipyards, workforce support and other investment.
The approved purchase is for Tomahawk Block IV and Block V missiles, control systems, telemetry missiles and communication and broadcast systems.
The Philippine Navy is fast-tracking its maritime modernisation with new warships, unmanned platforms, and international shipbuilding partnerships to bolster its regional deterrence posture.
Taiwan is strengthening its deterrence against the PLA through an asymmetric arsenal that includes fast mine-laying vessels and domestically developed UAVs.