ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems on July 9, 2021 officially handed over the fourth 209/1400mod class submarine, named «S44», to the Navy of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Following the strict corona prevention measures at the shipyard, the handover took place in Kiel.
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems hands over fourth submarine to Egyptian Navy
Doctor Rolf Wirtz, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems: «I would like to thank everyone involved for the open dialogue and the trusting cooperation. The success would not have been possible without the professionalism and competence of our employees, customers and suppliers. The handover of the fourth and last HDW Class 209/1400mod submarine in the project means, that our Egyptian colleagues will return home. We wish them all the best for the future and hope to welcome them back at our shipyard for further projects soon».
The contract for the delivery of the first two 209/1400 mod class submarines to the Arab Republic of Egypt was signed in 2011. In 2015, Egypt decided to take the option for two additional units. The first submarine was handed over in December 2016, the second in August 2017 and the third in April 2020. All four submarines will enhance Egypt’s defense capabilities and combat efficiency, achieve maritime security, and protect Egyptian coasts as well as the economic interests between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
About «S44»: In September 2020, the «S44» was named and launched at the shipyard of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Kiel. The submarine is extremely reliable, can stay submerged for a long time, is fast, and hard to locate thanks to their low signatures.
The Air Force released a new B-21 Raider artist rendering graphic with an accompanying fact sheet on July 06, 2021. As with past renderings, this rendering is an artist’s interpretation of the B-21 Raider design.
Shown is a B-21 Raider artist rendering graphic. The rendering highlights the future stealth bomber with Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the backdrop. Designed to perform long range conventional and nuclear missions and to operate in tomorrow’s high end threat environment, the B-21 Raider will be a visible and flexible component of the nuclear triad (U.S. Air Force graphic)
The new rendering highlights the future stealth bomber with Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), California, as the backdrop. The 420th Flight Test Squadron based at Edwards AFB will plan, test, analyze and report on all flight and ground testing of the B-21 Raider.
The B-21 Raider program continues to execute the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase and is focused on scaling the manufacturing infrastructure and capacity across the industrial supply base to prepare for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP). A critical design review conducted in 2018 concluded the aircraft has a mature and stable design.
Designed to perform long range conventional and nuclear missions and to operate in tomorrow’s high end threat environment, the B-21 Raider will be a visible and flexible component of the nuclear triad.
«Nuclear modernization is a top priority for the Department of Defense and the Air Force, and B-21 Raider is key to that plan», said Randall Walden, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director. «The built-in feature of open systems architecture on the B-21 Raider makes the bomber effective as the threat environment evolves. This aircraft design approach sets the nation on the right path to ensuring America’s enduring airpower capability».
The Air Force plans to incrementally replace the B-1 Lancer and the B-2 Spirit bombers to form a two-bomber fleet of B-21s and modified B-52s. The B-21 Raider program is on track to deliver B-21s to the first operational base, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, in the mid-2020s.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced on June 30, 2021 that, in partnership with the Space Development Agency (SDA), its Laser Interconnect and Networking Communications System (LINCS) satellites were successfully launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-2 mission from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The two 12U cubesats that make up the LINCS system were successfully deployed into orbit and have begun satellite commissioning and operations. This launch marks the first successful launch of SDA payloads since the agency was established in 2019.
General Atomics LINCS System Launched Successfully and Deployed
«Congratulations to SDA on this historic milestone. We look forward to continue supporting them over the next several months as the GA-EMS LINCS system is used to demonstrate space-based optical communication and validate its efficacy for the future national security space architecture», stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. «I am extremely proud of the GA-EMS team, whose tireless work and remarkable efforts over the past few years have led to a successful launch and deployment of this important technology».
The LINCS system is comprised of two 12U cubesats each hosting a C-band dual-wavelength full duplex Optical Communication Terminal (OCT) and an InfraRed (IR) payload, with all elements internally designed and built by GA-EMS at their facilities in San Diego, CA and Huntsville, AL. In partnership with SDA, this is among the first Department of Defense contracted efforts to develop and deploy a state-of-the-art 1550 nm OCT to test capabilities to increase the speed, reliability, distance, and variability of communication in space.
«Optical communication will significantly augment space-based communication, and the launch of the GA-EMS LINCS system is the first step in proving this critical technology in space», added Nick Bucci, vice president of Missile Defense and Space Systems. «Our next checkpoint is to establish the proper orbit, communication and control of the two spacecraft. From there, we will work with SDA and commence a series of experiments testing optical communication in a variety of operational scenarios».
The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal (ACC-DTA) announced that it has awarded Oshkosh Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation, a $152 Million order for Joint Light Tactical Wheeled Vehicles (JLTV), companion trailers, and associated kits.
Oshkosh Defense receives $152 million order to supply JLTVs to U.S. military and NATO allies
The order includes Oshkosh JLTVs, trailers and kits for the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy, as well as NATO allies Lithuania, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Romania.
Since winning the competitive JLTV contract in 2015, Oshkosh has built over 12,500 JLTVs, fielded vehicles to over 40 U.S. and international military installations, and received commitments from 8 NATO, Allied, and Coalition partners.
«We’ve spent over 10 years developing our vehicle, followed by nearly six years of manufacturing the vehicle in both low rate and full rate production», said George Mansfield, Vice President and General Manager of Joint Programs, Oshkosh Defense. «We’ve refined the manufacturing process, matured our robust supply chain, and fulfilled the light tactical vehicle capability gap in 8 additional countries with our proven platform. No one else can say that. And we have no plans to stop building the Oshkosh JLTV anytime soon».
The U.S. Army recently increased Oshkosh’s option ceiling under the current contract from 18,170 to 23,163 vehicles to support critical missions worldwide.
«Oshkosh Defense is incredibly pleased with the reception the JLTV continues to receive around the world», said John Lazar, Vice President and General Manager of International Programs, Oshkosh Defense. «The JLTV provides unprecedented levels of off-road mobility, survivability, and hosted firepower on a light tactical vehicle platform. We had a busy Spring and the momentum surrounding the platform continues to grow».
In May, the North Macedonia Minister of Defense, Radmila Sekerinska, was able to ride in the JLTV for the first time. Sekerinska later tweeted, «These new American-made light armored vehicles will become part of the Army facilities. Today at Krivolak, we were convinced of their exceptional performance. This is what our Army looks like in NATO».
Later in June, the Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Matej Tonin remarked at a JLTV acceptance ceremony, «Modernization of the Slovenian Army has finally begun. With the new light armored vehicles Oshkosh 4×4, our Soldiers will be more successful and safer in tasks at home and abroad».
To date, Oshkosh has received orders or commitments from the following NATO, Allied, and Coalition partners including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Montenegro, Slovenia, Lithuania, Brazil, Romania, and North Macedonia.
As the Department of the Air Force (DAF) stands up Rocket Cargo, its recently announced fourth Vanguard program, the WARTECH incubator process that birthed Rocket Cargo continues onward with the upcoming WARTECH 2.0 Summit July 15-16, where more future Vanguards could be fresh in the making.
A General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger unmanned vehicle returns to El Mirage Airfield, California. June 24, 2021. The MQ-20 successfully participated in Edwards Air Force Base’s Orange Flag 21-2 to test the Skyborg Autonomy Core System (Photo courtesy of General Atomics)
On June 15, a WARTECH pre-executive committee board finalized its recommendations concerning which advanced technology topic proposals should still receive consideration at the upcoming summit to be named a Vanguard. The pre-EXCOM, which represents O-6 level leadership and directly reports to an executive committee, received presentations on each topic June 8-9 and then conducted evaluations June 10-15.
Vanguards are premiere transformational Science & Technology 2030 initiatives with DAF commitment to deliver game-changing capabilities to meet warfighter requirements for future operations, said WARTECH Execution Lead, Jeff Palumbo. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (ARFL) Transformational Capabilities Office, the group appointed in Fall 2019 to implement the transformational warfighting component of the Air Force Science and Technology Strategy, introduced initiatives that included the selection of the first Vanguard programs: Golden Horde, Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS-3) and Skyborg.
To help identify future Vanguards, WARTECH was launched within the TCO in partnership with the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability, U.S. Space Force Strategic Requirements (USSF/S5B) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition’s Science, Technology and Engineering Directorate (SAF/AQR) as part of a new initiative. WARTECH teams the warfighter with technologists to mature ideas into proposals for technological capabilities that meet these future force needs.
«By nature, WARTECH is a highly collaborative process that brings together the technical, operational, acquisition, and planning communities to make these challenging investment decisions», Palumbo said. «This collaboration not only builds enterprise commitment to achieve the intended capabilities sooner but informs other elements of capability development—where do we need more technical maturation, where do we need to experiment, where do we need closer integration across technical areas or mission domains? WARTECH is not the only process that helps answers these questions, but it’s bringing many talented people together across the DAF and DOD to discuss, debate, and move out».
The ongoing work in AFRL’s technology directorates provides a key source of technologies to form integrated capability solutions. The technical experts across AFRL provide the knowledge base that the TCO relies on to scope problems, leverage outside expertise, and provide technical solutions to the operational challenges, Palumbo said. The TCO designs, coordinates, executes, communicates, and collects feedback on the process.
To be considered in the WARTECH process, the topic must align to the National Defense Strategy and DAF priorities, must feasibly address mission requirements within transition timelines, must have concurrence that it provides a «leap ahead» in advancement or a significant cost imposition on adversaries and must include a potential transition path.
While there isn’t an open call for ideas or proposals at any point, the entry point for ideas is a Scoping phase, which involves the review of current and projected threats as well as current operation plan briefs to identify operational challenges, operational concepts that may address those challenges and technologies that can perform or integrate those operational concept solutions. At this point in the process, those are the key elements that make up a WARTECH topic. Any data calls for ideas are specifically targeted at the operational problem and the associated areas of uncertainty, Palumbo said.
In late April’s Curation Phase six topic teams presented the status of their proposals and received feedback from internal stakeholders, including the AFRL front office group, technology directors, chief scientists, the TCO and special guest, Doctor Victoria Coleman, Chief Scientist of the Air Force. In early May teams presented to enterprise stakeholders, including at the major command, combatant command, field command, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, program executive officer and Program Executive Offices (PEO) staff levels.
The Independent Advisory Board also provided continuous feedback and held final sessions with teams in late May, and teams incorporated feedback, updated presentations and continued to refine their proposals for the aforementioned early June reviews to the pre-EXCOM board. If a topic makes it through the pre-EXCOM board to be a Vanguard candidate, it will then go to the summit.
The annual summit, which was first held in summer 2020, includes participants from the operational community (Air Force Futures, U.S. Space Force Futures, major commands, combatant commands), the acquisition community (the Air Force technology executive officer; SAF/AQR; AFRL technology directorates; Air Force Life Cycle Management Center; and Space and Missile Systems Center). Topics are reviewed by a two-star level EXCOM board, which is a governing body represented by the Air Force Futures, USSF/S5B, SAF/AQR, AFRL and the U.S. Space Force’s Chief Technology Innovation Office.
The summit leads to a prioritized list of proposed programs that have the potential to be commissioned as DAF Vanguard programs by a four-star level Executive Leadership Team, which is chaired by the vice chief of staff of the Air Force. Decisions coming out of the ELT may take time to be announced within the Department and may take even longer to be publicly announced because truly transformational efforts have security sensitivities associated with them.
«However, not being selected as a Vanguard does not mean the operational challenge goes away or the S&T activities supporting the challenge ends», said Palumbo. «TCO is building a pipeline of transformational activities that continue to work toward the vision of the future force planners. I think of WARTECH as an overarching process that is targeted at identifying advanced technology demonstrations supporting the most challenging DAF needs. The most visible will be Vanguard programs, but the process will inform many parts of the enterprise in both transformational and foundational activities across budget categories. We may have WARTECH cycles where one or more Vanguards are selected. We may also have cycles where no topics are selected to be Vanguards but significant investments are made toward an initial curation phase. These investments will position the topic for follow-on prototyping and demonstration activities as an integrated capability addressing the original operational challenge».
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. unveils Sea Breaker, a 5th generation long range, autonomous, precision-guided missile system, enabling significant attack performance against a variety of high-value maritime and land targets.
Sea Breaker utilizes Rafael’s technological innovations such as electro-optics, computer vision, Artificial Intelligence and decision-making algorithms for full operational capability in GNSS-denied environments for maritime superiority missions
Sea Breaker is a naval and artillery unit force-multiplier, designed to overcome the modern warfare arena challenges, using Rafael’s legacy of high-end precision-guided solutions.
Sea Breaker provides surgical, pin-point precision strikes from stand-off ranges of up to 300 km/186.4 miles. It features an advanced IIR (Imaging Infra-Red) seeker, ideal for engagement of maritime and land targets, stationary or moving, in advanced Anti Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) arenas, and in littoral or brown water, including archipelago, as well as for engagements in which previous generation RF-seeker-based missiles are not effective.
Sea Breaker can be launched from naval platforms, varying in size, from fast attack missile boats, to corvettes and frigates. The land version is a central part of the shore defense, based on Rafael’s highly-mobile SPYDER launchers. The battery architecture supports standalone launchers, or operation as an integrated solution, with a Command and Control Unit (CCU) and various sensors, based on customer requirements.
Using Artificial Intelligence, Sea Breaker performs deep-learning and big data-based scene-matching, a unique combat-proven Rafael technology, enabling Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA) and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR). The system has full operational capability in GNSS-denied arenas, in all weather conditions. The missile is ECM immune and jam-resilient. Sea Breaker’s mission profile enables sea-skimming and terrain-following low-level flight above ground.
Flying at high subsonic speeds, Sea Breaker has a multi-directional, synchronized full sphere attack capability, based on predefined attack plans, according to waypoints, azimuth, impact angle and aim point selection, ensuring a high probability of mission success, with a 250 lb. penetration, blast and fragmentation warhead, making a single hit effective enough to neutralize a frigate-sized ship.
The missile’s datalink supports real-time man-in-the-loop decision-making and tactical updates. It also features a mid-flight abort capability and Battle Damage Assessment (BDA).
Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, has completed Milestone C for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, or NGJ-MB.
An EA-18G Growler from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, conducts a Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) flight test over Southern Maryland recently (U.S. Navy photo by Steve Wolff)
«We’re well into development testing. It’s time to move towards production», said Annabel Flores, vice president of Electronic Warfare Systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. «We’re ready to give the Navy and our Australian partners a leap forward towards the electromagnetic spectrum superiority they need».
The recommendation from the Milestone Decision Authority is based on the program’s achievements to date and an assessment of readiness to enter Low Rate Initial Production, or LRIP.
«The Milestone C decision drives home the stability and maturity of NGJ-MB», said Flores. «The system is ready for validation and LRIP, and we’re gearing up for the delivery of this critical capability to the fleet».
To date, NGJ-MB has successfully completed over 145 hours of developmental flight testing using Mission Systems and Aeromechanical pods. NGJ-MB has also completed over 3,100 hours of anechoic chamber and lab testing at Naval Air Stations Patuxent River, Maryland, and Point Mugu, California. Chamber tests evaluated the system’s performance both on and off the EA-18G Growler aircraft, in addition to jamming techniques and reliability testing.
NGJ-MB is the Navy’s advanced electronic attack system that offensively denies, disrupts and degrades enemy technology, including air-defense systems and communications. NGJ-MB uses the latest digital, software-based and Active Electronically Scanned Array technologies. This allows operators to non-kinetically attack significantly more targets and at greater distances.
In a steel cut ceremony at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Glasgow, His Royal Highness, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, set the plasma cutting machine to work on the first plate of steel for the third Type 26 frigate, HMS Belfast.
HRH Prince William starts construction on the UK’s third Type 26 frigate for the Royal Navy
Minister of State for Defence Baroness Goldie, together with employees and representatives from the Scottish Government, Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence, joined the celebrations.
The event marks an important step in the programme to deliver the UK’s latest anti-submarine warfare capability to the Royal Navy, with all three of the first batch of City Class frigates now under construction. The UK-sourced steel plate will form part of a unit which will contain the machinery space for the gearbox and stabilisers of HMS Belfast.
In recent weeks the first of class, HMS Glasgow, was rolled out of the build hall into the open for the first time, while progress on HMS Cardiff continues at pace, with more than 40% of the ship’s units in build at the Company’s Govan shipyard.
Led by electrical apprentice, Cara Shannon, and Type 26 Programme Director, David Shepherd, the Duke of Cambridge enjoyed a tour of HMS Glasgow during his visit, meeting employees in the ship’s operations room and flight deck.
Minister of State for Defence Baroness Goldie, said: «Today is a significant milestone for the exciting new Type 26 frigate programme and for Defence. We celebrate and receive great support from our UK shipyards. As a Scot, I am very proud of the skills and expertise of our Scottish shipbuilders here on the Clyde. These new frigates will be equipped with the most advanced capabilities and technologies, enabling the Royal Navy to counter emerging global threats for decades to come».
Rear Admiral Paul Marshall, Director Navy Acquisition, said: «It’s been a privilege to witness this important moment in the life of our third Type 26 frigate and I’m delighted that His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge was able to come here today to cut the first steel for the future HMS Belfast. Despite the obstacles of the past year, BAE Systems’ workforce has continued to deliver what will be a world-leading maritime capability that will join an innovative and forward-looking Royal Navy. We are very proud to work closely with industry to realise the immense opportunity that these ships offer to our growing maritime ambition, our international partners and to the whole of the United Kingdom».
Defence Equipment and Support Director General Ships, Vice Admiral Christopher Gardner, said: «Standing in the shadow of HMS Glasgow which has been brought together on the hardstanding, with large parts of HMS Cardiff in construction around us, today’s steel cut for HMS Belfast is another significant milestone in the delivery of the eight-ship Type 26 class, itself part of the wider Global Combat Ship endeavour that we are part of along with Australia and Canada. This is a proud moment for everyone who has worked so hard on this strategic national programme, which sustains thousands of jobs across the United Kingdom and harnesses all of our skills and knowledge to produce the best possible ships for the Royal Navy».
Simon Lister, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Naval Ships business, said: «It’s a great honour to welcome the Duke of Cambridge to our facilities here in Glasgow to join our colleagues and guests on this very proud day. The world-class skills and expertise demonstrated by our teams and suppliers right across the UK play a critical role in delivering this vital advanced capability to the Royal Navy. The City Class frigates are at the pinnacle of complex warship capability and, together with our teams, I look forward to seeing the progress of all three ships».
The Type 26 frigate is an advanced anti-submarine warship which will deliver critical protection of the Royal Navy’s Continuous At Sea Deterrent and Carrier Strike Group. Each Type 26 will be equipped with a range of world-class capabilities including the Sea Ceptor missile defence system, a 5-inch/127-mm medium calibre gun, flexible mission bay, Artisan 997 Medium Range Radar and towed array sonar. The flight deck will be able to accommodate helicopters up to the size of a Chinook, while the mission bay can quickly adapt to house containers and deploy manned or unmanned vessels and vehicles.
Type 26 has been designed to reduce environmental impacts, with features including a hydrodynamically designed hull to optimise fuel efficiency and an advanced anti-fouling coating, which prevents marine growth and stops the transfer of invasive species on the hull. Each ship will also benefit from diesel engine emissions abatement, which reduces nitrogen oxide exhaust emissions and a waste water treatment system, which treats all ship effluent prior to discharge into the sea. Furthermore, it is envisaged that as new technologies become available, there will be potential opportunities for Type 26 to further mitigate its environmental impact.
Supporting more than 4,000 jobs across the UK, the Type 26 programme is making a significant contribution to the nation’s economic recovery by maintaining much-needed skills and capabilities. To date, more than £1bn has been invested across the programme’s supply chain, with more than 100 suppliers globally.
The Global Combat Ship supports a close partnership between the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, supporting greater operational, training and intelligence ties. In total, the UK, Australian and Canadian Navies will operate 32 anti-submarine warfare frigates, all based on the Type 26 reference design.
Austal Limited is pleased to announce that Austal USA has delivered its 14th Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to the U.S. Navy, from the company’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.
The future USS Savannah (LCS-28) is the 14th Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship to be delivered by Austal USA (Image: Austal)
Achieving significant gains in production efficiency, the future USS Savannah (LCS-28) was completed by Austal USA in just under three years, a full twelve months earlier than previous ships delivered under the same program.
Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the delivery of LCS-28 highlighted Austal USA’s proven capabilities to deliver multiple, complex naval shipbuilding programs efficiently, on schedule and within budget.
«Savannah is the seventh ship delivered by Austal USA to the US Navy in just 2 years, which is an incredible achievement», Mr. Gregg said. «The Austal USA team have developed industry-leading efficiencies in Mobile, to construct both the Independence-class LCS and Spearhead-class EPF on schedule and within budget. To complete Savannah in just under 3 years, a full twelve months less than previous vessels from the program, is simply outstanding. The entire Austal USA team are to be commended on their skills, drive and commitment to developing the United States’ shipbuilding industrial base, and the delivery of this latest capability to the Navy».
The Independence-class LCS is a fast, agile, and focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments, yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric «anti-access» threats, such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The 128-metre/421-foot high-speed trimaran hull warship integrates new technology to support current and future mission capability from deep water to the littoral zone.
Five Independence-class LCS and two Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ships (EPF) are currently under construction at Austal USA; with two additional ships, LCS-38 and EPF-15 under contract and soon to commence construction.
Austal USA has recently been awarded a concept and preliminary design contract for the U.S. Navy’s Light Amphibious Warship (LAW), which would be manufactured on Austal USA’s new steel production line. The shipyard has also been awarded a functional design contract to prepare for construction of the new steel hull Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) for the U.S. Navy.
This ASX announcement has been approved and authorised for release by Paddy Gregg, Austal Limited’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Independence Variant of the LCS
PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS
Construction
Hull and superstructure – aluminium alloy
Length overall
421 feet/128.3 m
Beam overall
103 feet/31.4 m
Hull draft (maximum)
14.8 feet/4.5 m
PAYLOAD AND CAPACITIES
Complement
Core Crew – 40
Mission crew – 36
Berthing
76 in a mix of single, double & quad berthing compartments
Maximum mission load
210 tonnes
Mission Bay Volume
118,403 feet3/11,000 m3
Mission packages
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
Surface Warfare (SUW)
Mine Warfare (MIW)
PROPULSION
Main engines
2 × GE LM2500
2 × MTU 20V 8000
Waterjets
4 × Wartsila steerable
Bow thruster
Retractable azimuthing
PERFORMANCE
Speed
40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h
Range
3,500 NM/4,028 miles/6,482 km
Operational limitation
Survival in Sea State 8
MISSION/LOGISTICS DECK
Deck area
>21,527.8 feet2/2,000 m2
Launch and recovery
Twin boom extending crane
Loading
Side ramp
Internal elevator to hanger
Launch/Recover Watercraft
Sea State 4
FLIGHT DECK AND HANGER
Flight deck dimensions
2 × SH-60 or 1 × CH-53 or multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs/VTUAVs)
In a commissioning ceremony held in Halifax on June 26, 2021, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) welcomed into service the first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430), while thousands of Canadians and RCN team members watched virtually.
RCN commissions HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430)
This occasion represented a significant achievement for the Canadian shipbuilding industry and for the RCN as the first ship of the Navy’s future fleet, delivered under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, officially entered service.
«As HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) enters into naval service and prepares to depart on its first operation, I can’t tell you how excited the Royal Canadian Navy is about what this represents», said Rear-Admiral (RAdm) Chris Sutherland, Acting Commander of the RCN.
The Harry DeWolf-class AOPS will bolster the RCN’s presence in the Arctic and its ability to operate globally. Specifically designed to patrol Canada’s northernmost regions and offshore waters, this new class of ship will be at the core of an enhanced Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Arctic presence, effectively complementing the capabilities of our other current and future warships through critical reconnaissance and surveillance activities.
In fact, the ship will depart Halifax in August for the North to participate in Operation Nanook, Canada’s signature, annual Arctic operation designed to exercise the defence of Canada and to secure our northern regions.
Following completion of its contribution to Op Nanook, HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) will proceed this fall to transit through Canada’s fabled Northwest Passage, and then carry on to circumnavigate North America while supporting operations in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Basin.
«HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) is not only the first of its class, and the first RCN ship to enter service under the National Shipbuilding Strategy – it represents what the future holds for the RCN as we continue to expand our presence in the North, and grow our capability to operate across the globe; it represents the modern and capable ships that the sailors of tomorrow will be crewing; it represents the future, and that future is here», RAdm Sutherland said.
Strong ties with northern communities will be a hallmark of all six Harry DeWolf-class ships, as each one of them will be affiliated with regions of the Inuit Nunangat. The first affiliation between HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) and the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut was formalized in May 2019. Affiliation between an HMC Ship, its sailors and civilian communities is a long-standing and honoured naval tradition, with relationships lasting throughout the service-life of the ship.
For the ship’s company, the commissioning is the pinnacle of a lot of hard work. The proud naval traditions carried out in Saturday’s ceremony included a symbolic presentation of the «keys to the ship» to the Commanding Officer, Commander Corey Gleason, the raising of the ship’s pennant and the hoisting of the ensign and jack.
«For many months, the ship’s company has been tirelessly working at sea and alongside in preparation for this historic moment», said Commander Gleason. «I am incredibly proud of the work that they have achieved, and to see this official welcome into the RCN fleet, as we prepare to embark on what will be a tremendous and exciting first deployment to Canada’s arctic waters and beyond. I have been eagerly anticipating this moment, knowing that each and every sailor on board stands proud and ready to serve in this incredible ship».
HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) – the first new ship commissioned into the RCN in more than 20 years – is named in honour of wartime Canadian naval hero Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf. This is the first time in its 111-year history that the RCN is naming a class after a prominent Canadian Navy figure. The five additional ships in the class will be named to honour other prominent Royal Canadian Navy heroes who served their country with the highest distinction.
The six Harry DeWolf-class ships are HMC Ships Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430), Margaret Brooke (AOPV 431), Max Bernays (AOPV 432), William Hall (AOPV 433), Frédérick Rolette (AOPV 434) and Robert Hampton Gray (AOPV 435).
