Maritime Defense News

The Russian defence ministry said on Friday its forces had carried out overnight drone strikes on Ukrainian defence industry facilities, logistics centres and vessels used by Ukraine's armed forces.The ministry said the strikes hit a drone assembly and storage site in the Kyiv region, logistics hubs in the Odesa region and port infrastructure in Reni on the Danube River.It also said Russian forces struck a cargo ship carrying military and dual-use goods to the port of Odesa.The ministry said later on Friday that its forces had struck another cargo vessel in the Odesa region that delivered mili

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday that Ukraine was ready for a maritime truce in the Black Sea based on proposals by Egypt, India and Turkey and said it was now up to Russia to respond.Zelenskiy spoke at Ukraine's Crimean Platform summit on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders and ahead of a Security Council meeting on Russia's war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year.Ukraine, which fears that Russia plans to pound power and heating facilities with missiles and drones this winter…

Saudi Arabia's first defence-focused venture capital fund, MASNA Ventures, is seeking to plough more money into local manufacturing of US and allied defence technology as conflict in the Gulf exposes the region's military gaps.The fund, anchored by a prominent Saudi family office and sharia-compliant, has asked the Capital Markets Authority to raise its capacity to $150 million from $100 million, General Partner Lucien Zeigler told Reuters.Committed capital so far includes only Saudi nationals…

Italy's defence minister on Friday called for a stronger naval presence in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping amid concerns over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital waterway threatened by the widening Middle East conflict.The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have made rapid advances in recent weeks along the Red Sea coast, further complicating routes in a region that also includes the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic had already dwindled because of the U.S.-Iran war.Italy, part of the European Union's Aspides mission, launched in 2024 to protect shipping from Houthi attacks, on Thursday said it

Finnish authorities boarded and searched a target vessel in the Baltic Sea on Thursday in a live drill that officials said shows how seriously the region takes the threat of undersea sabotage after a string of incidents.Finland and the wider Baltic Sea region have experienced ruptures of power cables, telecom lines and gas pipelines following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, raising concerns that critical infrastructure lacks sufficient protection.Masked officers from the coast guard…

Italy is preparing for a possible naval mission to safeguard its merchant shipping as security concerns mount in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.Crosetto said he and Italy's chief of defence staff had agreed to mobilise the navy to prepare "whatever is necessary" to guarantee the secure transit of Italian vessels, arguing that delays in responding to mounting maritime risks could have direct consequences for the economy and consumers.Fears…

Saronic announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy to construct Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, executed as a firm fixed-price agreement under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) award. This will be the first build at Port Alpha, Saronic’s next-generation shipyard in Brownsville, TX.LCUs are a Navy logistics vessel, used to move troops, vehicles, and cargo from ships offshore directly onto a beach or unimproved shoreline without the need for a port or pier.

KERSHIP, a joint venture between PIRIOU and Naval Group, launched the PETAR NJEGOS I, the first of two OPV 60M offshore patrol vessels ordered by Montenegro, at its Lanester shipyard on Friday, September 11, 2026.The ceremony, marking a milestone in the program, was attended by numerous Montenegrin and French dignitaries, including Mr. Aleksa Becic, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Dragan Krapovié, Minister of Defence of Montenegro, Ms Dubravka Lalovic, Ambassador of Montenegro in France…

Virginia Beach Economic Development (VBED) announced that Orca AI Defense, the U.S. subsidiary of global maritime technology company Orca AI, has established its first U.S. office as a new tenant of the Virginia Beach International Incubator.Headquartered in London, Orca AI has developed AI-powered maritime navigation technology that enhances situational awareness, improves vessel navigation, and helps prevent collisions. The company's commercial platform has achieved TRL 9 status and is currently deployed on more than 1…

Norway expanded on Thursday a recently created military brigade headquartered in the Arctic, the latest move by a NATO nation to boost its defence footprint in the wake of the Ukraine war.The NATO member established the Finnmark Brigade last year, forming the country's second brigade and the first one set up since the end of the Cold War. Both brigades have their headquarters in the Arctic.Norway, like the other Nordic countries, has steeply increased its military budget in response to the Ukraine war and U.S.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, announced a USD$8.08 million (6.98 million euro) investment in the expansion of the Vestdavit production facility in Redzikowo, Poland in partnership with the Pomeranian Regional Development Agency (PARR). The site will serve as FMD's global Davit Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (DMCoE), providing localized support to NATO and European naval forces, while producing the systems needed to deploy and recover autonomous and crewed vessels.

Defense Maritime Solutions, Inc. (DMS), an equipment manufacturer and supplier of shipboard propulsion and auxiliary systems, announced plans to invest more than $30 million to expand its operations in Chesapeake, Virginia.The investment is expected to create 32 new jobs and establish U.S. based capabilities for the manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing, finishing, packaging, and lifecycle support of Wärtsilä medium-speed engines for marine purposes. The added capabilities are intended to improve domestic maritime supply-chain resilience…

TOTE Services, LLC, a leading U.S. maritime services company specializing in vessel construction management and ship management, hosted more than 30 commercial shipbuilders, equipment manufacturers, marine suppliers, and defense contractors from over a dozen states across the country for its Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Industry Day.The Industry Day serves as the foundational step in assembling a reliable, nationwide supply chain to support multi-yard construction and ensure cost and schedule discipline.Attendees learned about the project timeline…

HII announced long-term performance-based production agreements with High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) team members GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics. The signed agreements are designed to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious ships, future frigates and unmanned surface vessels.Under the agreements, HII intends to award up to $900 million in total shipbuilding work to Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics across seven years…

Blue Water Autonomy, a Boston-based technology and shipbuilding company, has been selected for a multiple-award contract with the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to provide high-resolution ocean floor mapping using long-endurance uncrewed surface vessels.Deep open-ocean survey is among the most demanding work at sea, and its value reaches well beyond a map of the seafloor. Surveys like these characterize the operating environment itself such as the terrain, the acoustics, and the shifting conditions that shape how naval forces move and operate far from shore.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis disrupted one of the world's busiest trade corridors.The Saudi defence ministry said representatives from 43 countries and the European Union attended an international meeting that discussed the proposed coalition, including Saudi Arabia serving as its founding and leading state and hosting its headquarters.The ministry said the coalition would strengthen maritime security…

The U.S. Coast Guard successfully completed a major interoperability exercise conducted by the crews of Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) and Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel Hopen, marking a significant milestone in international Arctic cooperation and operational readiness.The exercise, part of Operation Arctic Cohesion (OAC) 2026, took place from July 8 to 15 off the coast of New England and ashore in Newport, Rhode Island.During the exercise, the crews of Stone and Hopen focused on building familiarity, strengthening coordinated response, and improving seamanship.

Fincantieri signed a contract amendment with OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation) under the U212 NFS (Near Future Submarine) program, related to the construction of four submarines currently being built by the Group for the Italian Navy at the Integrated Shipyard of Muggiano.The agreement, signed by Joachim Sucker, Director of OCCAR-EA and by Fulvio Palermo, Head of Project Management of Fincantieri’s Naval Vessels Division, is worth approximately USD$360.5 (317 million euros) and extends the scope of activities assigned to Fincantieri under the program.

Ships and aircraft participating in exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 conducted a planned, live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) and sank decommissioned USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), July 12, 2026, and decommissioned USS Peleliu (LHA 5), July 17. Mobile Bay and Peleliu were sunk in waters 15,000 feet deep, more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of the island of Kauai.During the SINKEXs, participating units from Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the U.S.

German warship builder TKMS said on Tuesday it is no longer interested in acquiring smaller shipyard German Naval Yards, also known as GNYK.That would make German defence group Rheinmetall the only bidder currently in the running to purchase the ship maker, which has about 350 staff.Handelsblatt first reported on TKMS dropping out of the bidding earlier on Tuesday.Europe's naval firms are exploring tie-ups and partnerships amid accelerating consolidation in the booming defence sector, with Rheinmetall, the region's top ammunition maker, having last year joined the fray after the purchase of sh

Hepburn and Sons LLC’s plans to invest $18 million in constructing a three-story, approximately 27,000 square foot corporate headquarters adjacent to NOVA LIVE in Innovation Park, which will support 80 new high-quality jobs. The BOCS approved the land sale of the 1.25 acres of county-owned land along Discovery Boulevard next to NOVA LIVE in June 2026.Hepburn and Sons provides solutions in the realms of naval power systems, shipboard electrical engineering, fault protection, additive manufacturing…

The 13th annual Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS), hosted by the Atlantic Canada Aerospace & Defense Association (ACADA), and sponsored by Saab Canada, Inc., is currently underway this week in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.ACADA represents Atlantic Canada's aerospace and defense industry and promotes the region as a globally recognized hub of aerospace and defense excellence. (Atlantic Canada includes the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador.)With 600 participants…

GABLER, a provider of submarine systems, and German defense technology company FLANQ have successfully completed the Sea Acceptance Test (SAT) demonstrating seaworthiness of their jointly developed Torpedo-Tube-Launched Uncrewed Surface Vessel (TTL USV) capability demonstrator.The demonstrator vehicle, named Ranger, combines GABLER's experience in mission-critical submarine components and defense manufacturing with FLANQ's capabilities in autonomous maritime systems, mission software…