Category: Marines from all over the world

Great Britain: Four destroyers receive DragonFire laser weapons

The kingdom intends to spend almost 3 billion euros on upgrading the weaponry of its Type 45 destroyers (Daring class) - not only to give the fleet more firepower in the short term, but also to visibly come closer to the 2.5% target for defence spending. Not just one, but four of the ships are to be equipped with the DragonFire LDEW (Laser Directed Energy Weapon) laser weapon system by 2027, which is currently only available as a demonstrator. In addition to the advantage of unlimited availability on board (as long as enough electrical energy can be generated), the laser weapon also offers a price advantage: a laser shot costing well under a hundred euros is equivalent to...

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Lithuania - small multi-purpose combat boats for the Baltic States

Lithuania procures Jehu-class combat boats - NATO cooperation in the Baltic region strengthens maritime security To strengthen regional maritime security, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania have signed a technical agreement in 2024: the "Common Future Multipurpose Attack Craft" (CFMAC). This joint procurement programme for small combat boats is also open to other NATO members with comparable equipment requirements. Finland already deploys a fleet of twelve boats of this type as the Jehu class. At the beginning of April, Vilnius, together with the Finnish shipyard Marine Alutech, announced that Lithuania had now ordered two of these multi-purpose boats. The units, which are based on the Watercat M18 model, are intended for the Lithuanian Navy and will be assigned to the coastal defence battalion...

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Royal Navy - Type 23 frigates secure the aircraft carriers

TAPS - these are the Royal Navy's Towed Array Patrol Ships, which usually traverse the waters of the North Atlantic for two months at a time. Their task: to protect the strategic submarines of the Vanguard class from potential underwater threats - recognised with the help of their highly sensitive towed array sonars. The six remaining Duke-class submarine frigates "Somerset", "Richmond", "Portland", "St Albans", "Sutherland" and "Kent" (Type 23, 133 metres, 4,300 tonnes) are deployed. They take it in turns to depart from their home port of Devonport/Plymouth and take over the permanent watch for the SSBNs. These patrols form the basis of the British deterrent policy - CASD (Continuous At Sea Deterrent) - but remain in...

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"Dragon Fury" - just do what drones can do!

As part of a joint amphibious exercise in the south of the country near Toulon, France's Marine Nationale and Armee de Terre tested what a dozen or so companies offer in the way of commercially available drones, and how these devices are suitable for solving military problems or could be modified for such purposes. In the landing and landing defence scenarios, flying, walking and floating robots were used in reconnaissance, defensive and combat modes, as well as in the aftercare of troops. After "Wildfire" in September 2024, "Dragon Fury" was the second of these exercises, which is now set to become a permanent fixture. The background to this is that...

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Norway - no material for the US Navy?

The Norwegian oil trader Haltbakk Bunkers announced on 2 March that it would stop supplying fuel to the American armed forces in Norway and to American ships docked in Norwegian ports. Gunnar Gran, the owner of the company, justified this step with the behaviour of the American president towards the president of Ukraine. Although the company is suffering losses as a result, and is neither the largest nor the only supplier in Norway, it is a question of morality. Nor do they fulfil orders from Russia. After all, Haltbakk Bunkers had refuelled the aircraft carrier "USS Gerald R. Ford" during his first visit to Norway and had...

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