With multipurpose frigates for the Royal Netherlands and Belgian navies reaching the end of their life cycles, Thales has been awarded a contract for three frigates by 2024.

France-based Thales will replace two Dutch and two Belgian M-class frigates with an Above Water Warfare System, according to news release Thursday. The contract amount wasn't specified.

Although they will be primarily anti-submarine, the new frigates will defend themselves as well as nearby units against air and surface threats.

The frigates will be designed to handle threats of increasing complexity, coordination and speed, the company said.

"Missiles go up to three times faster than the speed of sound, and possibly even up to five times faster in 2020," the company said in a news release. "Currently used technologies are insufficient to make use of all the new sensor and weapon systems to counter these threats in the future.

The system doesn't exclusively rely on a human operator.

AWWS will consist of sensors and artificial intelligence software "that continuously calculates which actions are best suited to tackle each threat detected by radar and other sensors in the right manner. This maximizes the chance of survival, while the crew stays in control."

More than 10 years ago, the Dutch Defense Ministry initiated advanced research into this technology with Thales, the Defense Materiel Organization and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research.

"I am proud that we can contribute to the Dutch Navy through the AWWS contract," Thales Nederland CEO Gerben Edelijn said. "Together, we can set the new standard for the rest of the world. This development will also strengthen the opportunities of the Dutch industry in the big development programs in Europe and beyond."

In 2016, Belgium and the Netherlands signed an agreement the Dutch would be leading the program, Navy Recognition reported.

Navy to commission USS Charleston on Saturday
Washington (UPI) Feb 28, 2019 - The U.S. Navy will commission the USS Charleston during a ceremony Saturday in its namesake city in South Carolina, becoming the ninth Independence-variant littoral combat ship.

One of the state's U.S. senators, Tim Scott , will deliver the principal address during the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. and will be streamed online on the Navy Live blog.

Charlotte Riley, wife of former Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, is the ship's sponsor. She will give the first time-honored order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

"The commissioning of the USS Charleston is a great honor for our city, and further strengthens our deep and abiding connection to the United States Navy," Mayor John Tecklenburg told The Charleston Post and Courier.

The new LCS, which will be homeported in San Diego, will be the sixth Navy vessel to carry the name Charleston.

The first defended the coast of South Carolina during the Quasi-War with France. The second Charleston, a protected cruiser, received the surrender of Guam during the Spanish-American War. The third Charleston was a St. Louis-class protected cruiser that performed escort and troop transport duties during World War I. Another Charleston, an Erie-class patrol gunboat, earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one battle star in the northern Pacific during World War II. The fifth Charleston, an amphibious cargo ship, served during the Vietnam War.

"This ship will extend the maneuverability and lethality of our fleet to confront the many challenges of a complex world, from maintaining the sea lanes to countering instability to maintaining our edge against renewed great power competition," Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer said in a statement.

The future USS Charleston can perform in near-shore and open-ocean operation, and handle "anti-access" threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

The littoral combat ship variants are Independence and Freedom.

The Independence variant, which consists of even-numbered hulls, is manufactured by Austal USA, in Mobile, Ala. Lockheed Martin produces the Freedom variant in Marinette, Wis.

The eight independence-class ships already in service are the Independence, Coronado, Jackson, Montgomery, Gabrielle Giffords, Omaha, Manchester and Tulsa. Independence-class ships in production are Cincinnati, Kansas City, Mobile, Oakland and Canberra.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama authenticated the Charleston's keel by welding his initials onto an aluminum plate for hull of the ship in June 2016.

The Charleston completed acceptance trials last August.

Christopher K. Brusca is the commanding officer of the ship and leads the core crew of 70 officers and enlisted personnel.

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century

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BAE awarded $23.2M contract for post shakedown of USS Thomas Hudner
Washington (UPI) Feb 22, 2019
BAE Systems was awarded a $23.4 million contract for post shakedown availability work on the USS Thomas Hudner, a guided-missile destroyer that was commissioned last December. The contract also includes an option for post shakedown of the future USS Paul Ignatius, the Department of Defense announced Thursday. With options, the new contract rises to a cumulative value of $55.4 million. Post shakedown availability encompasses manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipm ... read more