Monday, March 15, 2021

India commissions VC 11184 - first secretive missile tracking and ocean surveillance ship

 


India has quietly commissioned its secretive nuclear missile tracking vessel that had been under construction since 2014, entering a select league of nations with the capability to monitor missile launches at long distances, enhancing the testing programme and adding a crucial part to a national missile defence system.

Called the VC 11184, the specialised Ocean Surveillance Ship was commissioned in October last year in a ceremony that was not made public, sources have told ET. The ship delivery was delayed by a few months due to the Covid-19 crisis but all tests and trails were cleared in 2020 to ensure it is ready to enter service.

At present, only the US, France, China and Russia operate similar vessels that are used to track missile launches at sea. The vessel will be able to monitor India’s developmental trials of missiles of greater range than ever before — virtually unlimited due to its ability to traverse the oceans.


Australia's Third Hobart-class Destroyer Sets Off for Combat Trials



HMAS Sydney (right) departing Fleet Base East for its combat systems trials (photo : Aus DoD)

The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) third Hobart-class air warfare destroyer (AWD) has set off for its combat systems trials, which will be conducted with the US Navy (USN).

The vessel, HMAS Sydney (42), departed home port at Fleet Base East, Garden Island, on 11 March for waters off the US west coast, where the trials will be conducted. “These tests are a crucial milestone in order for Sydney to be declared available for operational deployments,” reads a statement from Australia’s Department of Defence on the same day.Sydney, which was commissioned in May 2020, is the final vessel in a three-ship programme to replace Australia’s Adelaide-class (US Oliver Hazard Perry design) guided-missile frigates. The first vessel, HMAS Hobart (39), was commissioned in September 2017, while the second warship, HMAS Brisbane (41), was inducted in October 2018.The class has an overall length of 146.7 m, an overall beam of 18.6 m, and a hull draught of 4.9 m. It is powered by two General Electric LM2500 gas-turbine and two Caterpillar diesel engines in a combined diesel or gas (CODOG) configuration, and can attain a top speed of 28 kt, with a standard range of 5,000 n miles at 18 kts.

The warship incorporates the Aegis combat system, and its suite of sensors includes the Lockheed Martin and Raytheon AN/SPY 1D(V) phased-array radar and the Northrop Grumman AN/SPQ-9B surface search radar.

The AWD’s weapons include a 48-cell MK 41 vertical launching system (VLS) that can fire Standard Missile-2 medium-range Block IIIA (SM-2MR Block IIIA), and SM-2MR Block IIIB long-range surface-to-air missiles at hostile aerial threats. This VLS can also launch the Raytheon RIM-162B Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM).

16 MAR, the JMSDF held the Ship Commissioning ceremony of the Mine Sweeper Ocean JS Etajima at Yokohama shipyard

https://twitter.com/jmsdf_pao_eng/status/1371686970699649033




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