She was laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia in October 1903, launched in April 1905, and commissioned into the US fleet in March 1907, just four months after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought entered service. Minnesota was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twenty 7 and 8 in (178 and 203 mm) guns, unlike Dreadnought, which carried an all-big-gun armament that rendered ships like Minnesota obsolescent.
Shortly after she entered service, Minnesota joined the Great White Fleet for its circumnavigation of the globe in 1908–1909. The years from 1909 to 1912 were uneventful, but thereafter the ship began to become involved in conflicts in the Caribbean. She supported efforts to put down an insurrection in Cuba in 1912 and patrolled the coast of Mexico in 1913–1914 during the Mexican Revolution. In 1916, the ship was placed in reserve, though she quickly returned to service when the United States entered World War I in April 1917. During the war, she trained naval personnel; while cruising off the eastern coast of the United States in September 1918, she struck a naval mine laid by a German U-boat. The extensive damage required lengthy repairs that kept her out of service for the rest of the war. She helped to return American soldiers from Europe in 1919 before resuming her training ship duties in 1920–1921, before being decommissioned in December 1921 and broken up for scrap at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1924.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Minnesota_(BB-22)
Authorized in 1890 and commissioned six years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship class also pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. She was designed for coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean.
Massachusetts served in the Spanish–American War (1898) as part of the Flying Squadron and took part in the blockades of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. She missed the decisive Battle of Santiago de Cuba after steaming to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal. After the war she served with the North Atlantic Squadron, performing training maneuvers and gunnery practice. During this period she suffered an explosion in an 8-inch gun turret, killing nine, and ran aground twice, requiring several months of repair both times. She was decommissioned in 1906 for modernization.
Although considered obsolete in 1910, the battleship was recommissioned and used for annual cruises for midshipmen during the summers and otherwise laid up in the reserve fleet until her decommissioning in 1914. In 1917 she was recommissioned to serve as a training ship for gun crews during World War I. She was decommissioned for the final time in March 1919 under the name Coast Battleship Number 2 so that her name could be reused for USS Massachusetts (BB-54). In 1921 she was scuttled in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola and used as a target for experimental artillery. The wreck was never scrapped and in 1956 it was declared the property of the State of Florida. Since 1993 the wreck has been a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve and it is included in the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as an artificial reef and diving spot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Massachusetts_(BB-2)
USS Ohio 1904 She was laid down at the Union Iron Works shipyard in San Francisco in April 1899, was launched in May 1901, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1904. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and could steam at a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).
Ohio initially served in the Asiatic Fleet, from 1905 to 1907, when she returned to the United States. In December that year, she joined the Great White Fleet for its world cruise, which lasted until early 1909. She served with the Atlantic Fleet for the next four years conducting a peacetime training routine. In 1914, she was sent to Mexico to protect American interests in the country during the Mexican Revolution. She served as a training ship during America’s involvement in World War I from 1917 to 1918. Thoroughly obsolete by that time, Ohio was decommissioned in July 1919, and was ultimately sold for scrap in March 1923 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ohio_(BB-12)
HMAS Anzac returns to Fleet Base West in September 2023 after its final deployment. Photo: ADF.
One of the key elements of February’s Surface Combatant Review was the replacement of the Royal Australian Navy’s eight Anzac-class frigates with a new class of ”general purpose frigates” from 2030.
This plan saw the much larger Hunter-class frigate program reduced in scope from an intended nine vessels to six, and the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) program reduced from at least 12 hulls to just six as well.
While these changes will eventually boost the navy’s overall number of surface combatants, in the short term there will be a dip in numbers, as some of the Anzac-class frigates won’t make it until the first general-purpose or Hunter-class frigate enters service.
In fact, the lead vessel of the class, HMAS Anzac III, was decommissioned on the weekend – 28 years to the day after it was commissioned – at a ceremony in Fremantle.
Based on the German Blohm + Voss Meko 200 frigate design, HMAS Anzac is a helicopter-capable frigate (FFH) built by Tenix Defence Systems (now BAE Systems) at the Williamstown yard in Melbourne. A total of 10 Anzac-class frigates were built by Tenix, including two vessels for the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMAS Anzac operating in the Persian Gulf in 2002. Under the ASMD and AMCAP upgrades, the Anzac class’s rear mast was dramatically reprofiled. Photo: ADF.
The third RAN vessel to carry the name, it was launched in 1994 and commissioned as HMAS Anzac III, with the hull number FFH 150, on 18 May, 1996.
The vessel is 118 metres (390 feet) long, has a beam of 15 (49 feet) metres and displaces about 3800 tonnes full load. All Anzacs are powered by a single LM 2500 gas turbine and two MTU 12V 1163 TB83 diesels, giving a top speed of about 27 knots.
Nicknamed ”First Lady of the Fleet”, HMAS Anzac III has a crew complement of 170. It was granted freedom of entry to the city of Albany in WA – the departure port for Anzac troops in World War I – and has a close association with the city of Rockingham in Perth.
During its service, HMAS Anzac has been awarded battle honours for participation in operations in East Timor in 1999, three deployments to support operations in the Persian Gulf in 2001-2003, and in Iraq in 2003.
The East Timor operations from 19-29 September, 1999, were part of a larger multinational Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce.
On 21 March, 2003, HMAS Anzac provided naval gunfire support to troops ashore in the battle of Al Faw near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Iraq, a battle also colloquially known by the crew as ”five-inch Friday” in reference to the calibre of the ship’s main guns.
The Anzac class is equipped with a Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo Seahawk combat helicopter for anti-surface, anti-submarine and logistics operations, a five-inch-calibre main gun, a Thomson Sintra sonar system, the Enhanced Sea Sparrow (ESSM) anti-air missile, Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, MU 90 anti-submarine torpedos, and the Australian-developed Nulka active missile decoy system.
HMA Ships Anzac and Arunta sporting their advanced CEA Technologies CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT phased-array radar masts in 2020. Photo: ADF.
The Anzac class has undergone two major upgrades under Projects SEA 1440 Phases 2A/2B, and Phase 4B.
Also known as the Anzac anti-ship missile defence (ASMD) program, Phases 2A/2B saw the eight vessels fitted with upgraded combat management and fire-control systems, an infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor, and Canberra-based CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR phased-array radar and CEMOUNT missile illuminator, which allow incoming anti-ship missiles to be tracked and intercepted by ESSM missiles.
The follow-on SEA 1448 Phase 4B Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Program replaced the Anzacs’ ageing SPS-49(V)8 air-search radar with CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR-2L phased-array radar system and added upgraded communications systems, new power, air conditioning and chilled-water systems, and power-plant and electrical upgrades.
When combined, the Phase 2A/2B and 4B upgrades not only gave the Anzac class a distinctly different profile, but also resulted in one of the most capable air defence systems of any small surface ship in the world.
“This technology has delivered a significantly advanced air warfare and missile self-defence capability to the navy’s Anzac-class frigates and provides the navy with one of the most advanced, sovereign air-search radar capabilities in the world,” then Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan said at the upgrade’s initial operational capability (IOC) declaration in 2021.
HMAS Anzac completed its final deployment last September and has remained tied up at HMAS Stirling Fleet Base West ever since due to crew shortages. At least one and possibly two more Anzac-class frigates are scheduled to be decommissioned before the first general-purpose frigate enters service from 2030.
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on PS News.
TOKYO INLET (May 10, 2024) Sailors stand in formation to form Japanese hiragana characters spelling “dewa mata,” which translates to “see you again,” on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), in the Tokyo Inlet, May 10. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Charlotte Dudenhoeffer).
By Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Dimal, May 16, 2024
YOKOSUKA, Japan – The U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Japanese Government officials and leaders from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) bid farewell to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) before the ship departed Yokosuka, Japan, for the last time as the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, May 16.
Ronald Reagan’s departure from Japan marks the beginning of the ship’s final scheduled Indo-Pacific patrol.
“We have a debate in the United States about who constitutes the 1 percent. The true measure is not in how much wealth you acquire, but in how much you give in service to something bigger than yourself,” said Emanuel. “So, to the sailors and aviators of the USS Ronald Reagan, who devote their lives to preserving and protecting the freedoms we all enjoy, it is you and your fellow service members who make up America’s true 1 percent. After nine years of deployment to Japan, the USS Ronald Reagan and her 6,000 crew deserve our heartfelt appreciation for their selflessness, their service, and their sacrifice in keeping the Indo-Pacific safe, secure, and stable.”
Departing with Ronald Reagan were the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83).
“On behalf of the strike group, I want to express my gratitude to the people of Japan and city of Yokosuka. You are our friends, family and our close and trusted allies,” said Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5. “Our relationship with Japan and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has never been stronger. Whether it’s aboard USS Ronald Reagan today or USS George Washington in the future, we will continue to strengthen those ties at all levels, on-shore and at-sea.”
As the ship pulled away from the pier and made its final transit through Sagami Bay, hundreds of CSG 5 Sailors manned the rails in their summer dress white uniforms.
Ronald Reagan is scheduled to turn over with USS George Washington (CVN 73), and then transit to Bremerton, Washington, later this year.
“For nearly nine years, thousands of Ronald Reagan Sailors have lived and worked here in Yokosuka, and have deployed throughout the region to uphold the international rule of law and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific along with our allies and partners,” said Capt. Daryle Cardone, Ronald Reagan’s commanding officer. “And as forward-deployed naval forces, we had the privilege of living in Japan. Japan has been an incredible host and a second home for the crew. And for this, I am very grateful to the Japanese people, the City of Yokosuka, and the Japanese government for their support and for welcoming us as citizens.”
In 2011, while deployed near the Korean Peninsula, Ronald Reagan was heavily involved with the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission during Operation Tomodachi. Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the ship and its crew was instrumental in refueling JMSDF ships, transporting soldiers and Marines, and providing food, water and supplies to affected communities. In addition, Ronald Reagan’s embarked airborne assets flew reconnaissance missions.
In 2015, Ronald Reagan arrived to Japan as part of an historic tri-carrier hull swap.
In 2021, the Nimitz-class carrier deployed to the Middle East in 2021 to assist in Operation Allies Refuge providing safety and security to more than 7,000 U.S. citizens and evacuees in Afghanistan.
“While the crew and I are sad to bid Japan farewell, the Ronald Reagan’s strong relationships with the JMSDF and rich history with the Japanese people assure me that we shall see each other again,” added Cardone.
CSG 5 is forward-deployed under U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces emplace the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. US Army Photo
The U.S.-built pier that will funnel humanitarian aid into Gaza is ready for deliveries, according to photos released by U.S. Central Command on Thursday. The pier, assembled by the U.S. Army 7th Transportation Brigade, was positioned and fixed to the shore this week with the assistance of Israeli Defense Forces, deputy CENTCOM commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters on Thursday.
“IDF engineers prepared the beach at Gaza and secured the temporary pier to the beach,” Cooper said. “This group of engineers were specially trained for this mission by U.S. Army engineers in the preceding weeks on a beach in Israel.”
Over the last two months, Army watercraft and Navy ships have assembled in the Eastern Mediterranean to construct a logistics chain from supplies in Cyprus to Gaza that would augment the humanitarian aid for civilians trapped there. Announced in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union in March, the effort promised to deliver up to 2 million meals per day.
“Across Gaza, 2.2 million people, the entire population, is facing acute food insecurity,” Sonali Korde with USAID told reporters on Thursday. “More than half of the population in the north is at catastrophic levels, and I want to underscore just how dire this is for the most vulnerable, particularly mothers and children, and that is who we are particularly focused on reaching with our assistance.”
About 1,000 U.S. military personnel, comprised of the 7th TBX from Virginia and Naval Beach Group 1, are operating the pier to Gaza and a transit platform for cargo about two miles off the coast. Under the current plan, the cargo is checked in Cyprus and then shipped to the platform that’s two miles off the coast from the pier.
Photos on social media show a Besson-class Army watercraft docked at the pier on Thursday and the Maritime Administration ship MV Roy A. Benavidez off the coast of Gaza. Ship spotters have tracked U.S.-flagged container ship MV Sagamore, which left from Cyprus on Thursday and was seen transferring cargo to Benavidez, shipping analyst Sal Mercogliano told USNI News.
The White House and the Pentagon have pledged that no U.S. troops will set foot in Gaza and that Israel will handle protecting the pier and the cargo inside its territorial waters.
“Israel has dedicated a brigade of troops, ships, and air force assets solely focused on the force protection of this operation. We have been working closely with the Israeli Defense Force for six weeks to ensure every aspect of logistics operations, command and control, communications, and force protection are in place,” Cooper told reporters on Thursday.
Additionally, two U.S. guided-missile destroyers are in the Eastern Mediterranean operating outside Israel’s 12 nautical mile territorial sea in support of the
The presence of the DDGs assigned to the mission was first reported byMilitary.com.
Blue Ridge-class command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) steams alongside the world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) while an MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to the “Tridents” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 9, performs a flyby in the Mediterranean Sea, Oct. 3, 2023. Gerald R. Ford is the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, representing a generational leap in the U.S. Navy’s capacity to project power on a global scale. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied, and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Tajh Payne)
Meanwhile, the U.S. 6th Fleet command ship was back underway in the Mediterranean Sea, as U.S. sailors and soldiers prepare to deliver the first shipment of humanitarian aid via the Gaza pier.
USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) departed from its homeport at Gaeta, Italy, on Tuesday, reads a statement from U.S. 6th Fleet.
“During [its] patrol, Mount Whitney will engage with allies and partners in support of maritime operations, which encompasses naval diplomacy and national efforts to build comprehensive U.S. and allied maritime power,” reads the statement.
Outfitted with an extensive array of communications equipment, Mount Whitney serves as the flagship for the U.S. 6th Fleet commander, allowing commanders more freedom to direct operations from international waters rather than at an allied base.
Leaders aboard Mount Whitney coordinated the initial U.S. Navy presence operations following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
Future HMS Glasgow preparing to leave Govan for the first time (Source: Ian Dick)
The Royal Norwegian Navy has made a request to BAE Systems to potentially provide it with a fleet of up to five Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates in an extensive modernisation of the Norwegian military amid mounting tensions in Europe.
The request comes amid the release of Norway’s updated defence plan, titled, The Norwegian Defence Pledge, under which the Norwegian government has committed to expanding the nation’s defence spending beyond the 2 per cent floor expected of NATO member states within the 2025–36 time frame.
At the core of this push is a commitment to expanding the Royal Norwegian Navy’s capabilities, with the announcement release stating, “Norway is a nation with considerable maritime interests. Combined with our immediate proximity to Russia’s nuclear submarine force, maintaining situational awareness in the High North and in the North Atlantic is paramount.
“This long-term defence plan emphasises capabilities in the maritime domain through the planned procurement of a minimum of five new frigates with anti-submarine warfare capability as well as minimum of five new submarines,” the Norwegians announced.
This push for new anti-submarine warfare frigates has seen the Scandinavian country make an approach to BAE Systems for the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 or City Class frigates to form the basis of the Royal Norwegian Navy’s new major surface combatant fleet.
However, this isn’t without major challenges, particularly for the Royal Navy which is struggling under the ageing nature of its existing Type 23 frigate fleet, which the City Class is slated to replace.
Norway’s request would see the country gain access to one of the first block of four hulls before the Royal Navy, at best, leaving one of the service’s ageing anti-submarine warfare frigates in service longer than expected or at worst, leaving the Royal Navy a hull short at a time when it is already at its smallest point in decades.
Despite this, the UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson told UK paper The Telegraph, “We are working jointly with BAE Systems on options to support Norway’s future frigate program and actively support the promotion of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship design to other navies around the world with a similar requirement.”
Adding to this, BAE Systems also told The Telegraph, “We’re committed to delivering the eight ship Type 26 program for the Royal Navy and are making good progress with construction underway on the first four vessels.”
While not the only option expected to be pursued by the Norwegians, with other options including the Dutch ASWF, the German F126 Class, the French FDI, the American/Italian Constellation Class, and the Spanish F-110.
The Royal Navy’s first Type 26 frigate, the future HMS Glasgow, began to take shape at BAE System’s yard in Glasgow in April 2019, with the ship not due to begin sea trials until 2025. Meanwhile, the second ship, the future HMS Cardiff, began construction in August 2019 and will be followed by a third frigate, HMS Belfast, in 2021.
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) steams in the Gulf of Thailand, Mar. 1, 2024, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2024. Cobra Gold demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the region by building interoperability, multilateral cooperative arrangements, advancing common interests, and a commitment to our allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Evan Diaz)
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) steams in the Gulf of Thailand, Mar. 1, 2024, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2024. U.S. Navy Photo
Expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) carried out trilateral drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the East China Sea earlier this week.
Destroyer JS Akizuki (DD-115) and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft performed the drills for Noble Raven 24 from Saturday to Monday, according to a JMSDF news release issued Tuesday. Meanwhile, on Monday North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced United Nations maritime and air surveillance operations carried out in support of sanctions on North Korea.
For Noble Raven, the U.S., Japan and New Zealand carried out tactical exercises, according to the release.
“[The] New Zealand Defense Force is important partners to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law, and we are working together through various opportunities, such as monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit maritime activities including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean vessels,” reads a JMSDF release.
Miguel Keith has been deployed to the Western Pacific since the fall of 2021 to support U.S. 7th Fleet operations, while the RNZAF P-8 Poseidon has been operating out of Kadena Air Base since mid-April, conducting surveillance activities of illicit maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean-flagged vessels that are prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions. These operations involve several countries deploying of ships and aircraft staging out of Japan, with a minimum of a single ship and a single aircraft, not necessarily from the same country, conducting the mission at specific periods. These deployments supplemental round-the-clock surveillance by the Japanese military on North Korea’s sanctions violations, according to a Japan Ministry of Defense post on social media website X.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced the surveillance missions in a press statement Monday in the state-run media outlet, referring to the “military interference in the Asia Pacific” carried out by U.S. allies under the pretext of monitoring violations of U.N. sanctions. The statement went on to state that the United Kingdom staged a naval drill with South Korea by dispatching its naval forces into the waters around the Korean peninsula, and claimed it was part of the U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea. Pyongyang also said that in the wake of the U.K.- South Korea drill, Canada is “scheming” to deploy a maritime patrol aircraft to a base in Japan to conduct surveillance over the waters around the Korean peninsula.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense had announced on May 8 that a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 MPA would carry out monitoring and surveillance out of Kadena Air Base from early May to early June. The U.K Ministry of Defense on Tuesday issued a news release stating that Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P234) conducted joint maritime patrols with South Korea in the waters around the Korean Peninsula to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolutions against North Korea. The release did not disclose when these patrols occurred, only stating that Spey carried out the patrols with a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) ship and ROKN maritime patrol aircraft.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry statement went on to state that U.S. allies like Germany, France and New Zealand were sending military ships and aircraft to the Asia Pacific region, including the waters around the Korean peninsula in continuous succession for this year, “encroaching upon the security interests of regional countries and escalating the military tension in the region.” Pyongyang cited an Australian warship that was operating in the waters of the Korean peninsula and deployed a helicopter, claiming it threatened the maritime and air security of a surrounding country and created the possibility of conflict.
North Korea statement was referring to a May 4 incident in which a People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jet dropped flares in front of a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R helicopter operating from destroyer HMAS Hobart (D39) in the Yellow Sea while the destroyer was conducting a sanctions monitoring mission. While North Korea has not directly interfered in such missions, Chinese naval ships and military aircraft have on several occasions harassed Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters and Australian ships, aircraft and helicopters conducting the missions. Other countries conducting the missions have not publicly reported any harassment by the Chinese military. China claims that the monitoring missions serve as a cover for reconnaissance missions against China.
Speaking about the incident, China Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Senior Col. Zhang Xiaogang said on May 7 that the People’s Liberation Army Navy was training in the Yellow Sea from May 3-4 and that Hobart dispatched its helicopter on three occasions to “conduct close reconnaissance and nuisance to China’s normal training activities.”
Zhang said warnings and actions forcing the other party to leave were legitimate, reasonable, professional, safe and fully complied with international law and international practice.
“We ask Australia to earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, stop spreading false narratives, strictly restrict the actions of its naval and air forces, and stop all dangerous and provocative actions to avoid damaging the overall relations between China and Australia and the two militaries,” Zhang said.
Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge has seen how the new Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon is being developed (Picture: MOD)
Alex Candlin 16th May 2024 at 9:27am
A game-changing new weapon that can disable multiple drones in one shot is currently being developed for the UK’s Armed Forces.
The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) will reportedly be able to prevent attack drones from reaching their targets while being extremely cheap to use.
“These game-changing systems will deliver decisive operational advantage to the UK Armed Forces, saving lives and defeating deadly threats,” said Defence Science and Technology Laboratory chief executive Paul Hollinshead.
Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said: “We are already a force to be reckoned with on science and technology.
“Developments like RFDEW not only make our personnel more lethal and better protected on the battlefield, but also keep the UK a world leader on innovative military kit.
“The war in Ukraine has shown us the importance of deploying uncrewed systems, but we must be able to defend against them too.
“As we ramp up our defence spending in the coming years, our Defence Drone Strategy will ensure we are at the forefront of this warfighting evolution.”
The RFDEW system is being developed for the British Armed Forces as part of the Government’s plan to put the UK defence industry on a war footing (Picture: MOD)
The versatile weapons system can track and destroy threats on the ground, in the air and at sea up to 1km away.
Once a target has been identified, the weapon beams a radio wave to disrupt or damage the electronic components of the enemy UAVs, causing them to stop in their tracks or fall out of the sky.
And unlike expensive missile systems, RFDEW only costs 10p per shot.
This new project forms part of the work to put the UK defence industry on a war footing following the Prime Minister’s announcement last month of an increase to the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
James Cartlidge was given the opportunity to learn about the Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon system (Picture: MOD)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said. (U.S. Central Command)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has completed installing a floating, temporary pier off Gaza’s coast, and humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said Thursday. “This morning, just a few hours ago, the pier was successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza. And in the coming days, we will commence delivery of aid,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command. At 7:40 a.m. Gaza time, CENTCOM personnel anchored the pier to the beach. No U.S. troops entered Gaza, according to a CENTCOM statement posted on X. The pier, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, is meant to provide another way to deliver needed aid into Gaza. The World Health Organization has warned some 2.3 million Gaza inhabitants face extreme hunger that could become a full-blown famine by next month as Israel continues its war against Hamas militants, who launched a surprise assault in October from the enclave. Sonali Korde, a U.S. Agency for International Development official, said the assistance is necessary because conditions on the ground have not improved, and a vital border crossing closed in the last few weeks. Israel on May 7 seized control of and closed the Rafah crossing, which aid organizations relied on. “We need to just continue to work on getting more aid in through all routes. We’re at a point in time when this is all hands on deck,” Korde said. “We can’t spare any effort.” President Joe Biden first announced the JLOTS operation on March 7 during his State of the Union speech. One day later, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, said the temporary pier would be operational within about 60 days. A defense official on Wednesday said the U.S. military had begun moving parts of the pier toward Gaza from the Port of Ashdod, one of Israel’s three main cargo ports north of Gaza. The delivery of food and other aid could begin in the first 24 to 48 hours after installation, according to an NBC News report.
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said. (U.S. Central Command) The Pentagon announced last week that the U.S. military completed construction of the floating pier, but weather conditions made it unsafe to dock the pier to begin transporting more aid into the region. Cooper said the future impact of weather on the pier is situational. The weather is expected to be good for the coming week or so, with the goal being to move as much humanitarian aid as possible and make assessments about the pier along the way. “As we sit here now, we have about 500 tons of humanitarian assistance loaded on ships. That’s about 1 million pounds ready for the delivery in the coming days and … thousands in the pipeline coming behind,” Cooper said. “Historically speaking, the time between May and August, there’s very favorable weather in this part of the world.” The pier is initially expected to deliver about 90 trucks worth of aid a day and ramp up to 150 per day once it reaches full capacity, defense officials said late last month. The United Nations has said to meet the needs of Palestinians trapped in Gaza about 500 trucks worth of aid per day must enter the territory. The flow of aid is expected to start in Cyprus, where it will be inspected and loaded onto ships to travel about 200 miles to the floating platform in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Once it arrives, the aid will be transferred by U.S. military vessels to the causeway attached to the coast of Gaza. From there, trucks driven by a third party will take the aid into Gaza, not the U.S. military. The cost of the pier is about $320 million, Pentagon officials estimate. About 1,000 American troops are involved in the operation. Cooper said 14 ships from the U.S. and partner nations are involved with helping deliver aid. He added three more U.S. ships will join in the coming week. “We’ve been working closely with the Israeli Defense Force for six weeks to ensure every aspect of logistics, operations command and control communications, and force protection are in place. With the IDF, we have developed a comprehensive security plan across multiple domains,” Cooper said.
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said.
