Defense

The French defense procurement agency (DGA) placed an order with Thales, via the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAr), for the provision of an Expeditionary Portable Operations Centre (e-POC) to meet the French Navy's new requirement for a drone-based mine countermeasures capability.

ICEYE, the global leader in SAR satellite operations for Earth observation, announces the launch of ICEYE Ocean Vision, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) product family, to provide actionable intelligence for maritime domain awareness.

Saab and Damen Shipyards have agreed to export the advanced Expeditionary C-71 submarines. CEO of Damen Shipyards Arnout Damen and CEO of Saab Micael Johansson made the decision this week to export together the submarine, which has been developed for the Royal Netherlands Navy to replace the current Walrus class. The agreement doubles the long-term prospect of employment and income for the Netherlands Naval Cluster with the replacement of the Walrus submarines by Saab-Damen.

Saildrone announced it has launched the first aluminum Surveyor unmanned surface vehicle (USV) off the Austal USA production line in Mobile, Alabama. Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Lisa Franchetti was on site Monday, March 4, 2024, to inspect the vehicle, ahead of these new USVs being tested under contract to the US Navy.

Earlier this week, Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding Shipyards hosted a delegation of US Navy and Marine Corps leaders at its facility in Pascagoula, MS. The delegation included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney, PEO Ships Rear ADM Tom Anderson, and US Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. The visit underscored the critical role Bollinger plays in American shipbuilding in enhancing our nation’s defense capabilities and bolstering the economy.

Planet Labs PBC, a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, announced its fully owned subsidiary, Planet Labs Federal Inc., was awarded a seven-figure contract by the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific for vessel detection and monitoring over key areas of interest throughout the Pacific. The project will integrate both Planet’s daily, global PlanetScope data and high-resolution SkySat data into the Department of Transportation’s SeaVision platform, a web-based maritime situational awareness tool. The contract includes fusion of technology from SynMax, a longtime Planet partner, who will provide vessel detection using their analytics technology over Planet data.

TEI, Türkiye's leading engine company, will provide depot-level maintenance and overhaul services for the US Navy's LM2500 marine gas turbines.

Kraken Robotics Inc. (Kraken) announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Kraken Robotic Systems Inc., has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT). The objective of this CRADA is to conduct joint research into advanced signal processing techniques for the current and future generation of Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) sensor technologies. This also includes exploration into enhanced image processing techniques such as data fusion, image registration, multi-spectral image enhancement and automated target recognition.

The US Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, March 1, 2024. Kingsville is the 18th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) constructed, and is the first ship ever named after Kingsville, Texas.

Amentum has been awarded a $591.6 million contract by the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) International Fleet Support Program Office (PMS 326) to deliver life-cycle support and other follow-on technical solutions and services to eligible allied international naval forces. This contract enables Amentum to deliver naval ship and systems engineering, maintenance, sustainment, and modernization capabilities to numerous allied navies.

Babcock and the UK’s Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) have agreed a full cost recovery contract worth an estimated £560 million to undertake the planned deep maintenance and life extension program for HMS Victorious, one of the UK’s Vanguard Class nuclear submarines.

The first CAPTAS-4 variable-depth sonar transmitter has been delivered to the US Navy's Constellation Frigate Program (FFG-62). This delivery, ahead of schedule, demonstrates the effectiveness of Thales as a trusted partner to worldwide navies. The US Navy will benefit from the demonstrated reliability and performance of the CAPTAS-4, the undisputed market leader in underwater variable depth active systems.