Sea

Australia has selected Lockheed Martin for AUKUS combat integration work. The decision places local systems engineering, sustainment, and workforce development at the centre of the country’s Virginia-class submarine pathway.

General Dynamics Electric Boat has received a $2.3bn Virginia-class Block VI award. The contract funds long-lead materials and early manufacturing, keeping submarine industrial-base pressure at the centre of US naval procurement.

The US Navy plans a major surface force investment through FY2031. The plan links new hull procurement with industrial-base funding, reflecting concern over shipyard capacity, supplier depth, and fleet expansion timelines.

Babcock has taken a further £140m charge on Type 31. The cost increase highlights the industrial risk of fixed-price warship contracts when design maturity, rework, inflation, and shipyard sequencing collide.

SubSea Craft has moved its upgraded MARS unmanned surface vessel into production, advancing a compact UK-built maritime autonomy platform shaped by testing, modular payload work, and demand for deployable uncrewed naval systems.

Japan has offered Indonesia Mogami-class frigates and submarines as Tokyo expands defence export activity and Jakarta reviews options for naval modernisation, industrial cooperation, and undersea capability.

New Zealand’s frigate shortlist puts Japan’s upgraded Mogami and the UK Type 31 into direct competition, with interoperability, crew burden, sustainment, shipyard capacity, and allied industrial models likely to shape the final procurement decision.

Australia’s future Mogami frigates will receive a new terminal-defence layer. Raytheon’s SeaRAM contract links US missile-defence production, Japanese shipbuilding, and Australian naval recapitalisation under the Sea3000 general-purpose frigate programme.