Naval Systems

The German Armed Forces have recently fired a shipboard laser weapon against aerial targets. At the test the German frigate Sachsen successfully engaged drones at a short and very short range. Testing of the high-energy laser weapon will continue until mid-2023. These trials have now set the basic stage for introducing laser weapon systems and capabilities into the Bundeswehr – capabilities whose relevance is by no means restricted to the Navy, as defense industries are pressing ahead with laser weapon systems for multiple applications.

General Robotics' new SHARK Remotely Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) addresses the need for SOF to operate their weapons on small boats, moving at high speed and agility. Designed to be mounted on smaller boats and handle recoil loads with less weight and energy, SHARK is optimized for manned and unmanned fast boats.

The Iranians and Houthis have gradually extended the range of their weapons from tens to a few hundred nautical miles. Rather than employing these weapons on board ships to extend range, they can now reach beyond 200 nm, using the new ballistic anti-ship missiles, practically blocking the movements of naval vessels well beyond Yemen's coastal waters.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have added a batch of new ‘loitering torpedoes’ developed by Iran’s defense industries. The new weapons were unveiled yesterday during a ceremony at Bandar Abas naval base, a large naval base located at the straits of Hormoz. The new weapon that seems to be a hybrid of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and a guided torpedo, enables the guards to direct covert attacks at enemy naval bases, ships, and offshore facilities.

Israel's Ministry of Defense, Rafael, and IAI have completed testing the C-Dome system onboard Israel's Navy Magen corvette, the lead ship of the Saar-6 Magen class. The test included the interception of targets simulating rockets, cruise missiles, and drones launched from the shore, simulating realistic threats the vessels could face at sea and on missions protecting Israel's offshore facilities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, the Middle East's International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2022 began. It is the region’s largest maritime exercise and the world's largest unmanned exercise with more than 80 unmanned systems from ten nations participating.

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. unveiled today the 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. Rafael foresees Sea Breaker as a multi-domain weapon system capable of delivering lethal effects as an anti-ship, land-attack, coastal defense, and surface-to-surface cruise missile.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) today unveiled details of the comprehensive trials series of Barak-ER system, tested against a range of scenarios and threats, culminated with the intercept of a ballistic missile target by the BARAK ER (Extended Range) interceptor. BARAK-ER provides wide-area protection against a range of air, sea, and ground threats, including ballistic, ground-to-ground, and cruise missiles, UAVs, and helicopters.

Thales UK and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have joined forces to offer IAI’s Sea Serpent anti-ship missile to replace the Harpoon Block1C anti-ship missile currently in service on board the Royal Navy Type 23 frigates.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced today the signing of three significant contracts valued at over US$100 million, for the supply of Loitering Munitions (LM) systems to several countries in Asia. Orders for HAROP loitering weapons for land-based and naval platforms and for ROTEM miniature 'suicide drones' reflect a growing interest in the LM category.

On 6 October, the Russian Ministry of Defence successfully tested the Tsirkon hypersonic missile. The tests were carried out from the waters of the White Sea, from the “Admiral Gorshkov” frigate. The test is the latest in a series of qualification tests (state tests) of the hypersonic anti-ship missile developed for the Russian Navy and the first performed from a combat vessel at sea.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) today signed an agreement to set up a Singapore-based joint venture company (JV) with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI). The JV named Proteus Advanced Systems will market and sell advanced naval missile systems, including next-generation anti-ship missile systems.

ECA has added an Unmanned Rotorcraft to the Belgian-Dutch MCM Program. The drone will join other unmanned systems organized in a 'Toolbox', that represents the ECA Group integrated MCM capability of the Belgian-Dutch navies. The Toolbox consists of the integrated operation of remotely controlled and autonomous aerial, surface, and underwater systems.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has completed a dual operational firing trial with LORA (Long-Range Artillery Weapon System), a precise ballistic strike missile. Performed as part of IAI's work plan, the test demonstrated the capabilities of the advanced system to customers. The complex trial included two scenarios to test and demonstrate LORA’s advanced capabilities. The first scenario involved a short-range launch to 90 km and the second to a long range of 400 km. Under both scenarios, the missile was launched to its trajectory, navigated its course to the target, and hit it with utmost precision. Both the weapon system and the missile successfully met all of the trial’s objectives.