Lockheed Martin introduces upgraded MK 41 VLS production line

Representatives of Lockheed Martin and Navy at the ceremonial reopening of the MK 41 Vertical Launching System. Photo: courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Lockheed Martin has introduced an upgraded MK 41 vertical launching system (VLS) production line at its Middle River, Maryland facility, US.

Under a previously awarded $235.3m firm-fixed-price contract by the US Navy, which extends until 2022, Lockheed designed and developed MK 41 VLS electronic and mechanical modules and related equipment.

Comparison: Russian Navy Slava-class and US Navy Ticonderoga-class Cruisers in Combat

Analysis by Konstantin Sivkov, Ph.D. (military sciences)
Military expert Konstantin Sivkov, a member of the Russian Academy of Rocket, Missile and Artillery Sciences, Ph.D. (military sciences), has assessed a hypothetical battle between a Russian Navy Project 1164 Atlant-class (NATO reporting name: Slava-class) missile cruiser and a US Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser. The calculation has been performed for each of the compared ships. It has covered all of the missions considered and possible courses of action, and the calculation of an integral effectiveness index of the ships.

Slava-class
The Project 1164 Atlant-class Moskva missile cruiser has a total displacement of 11,500 tons, a length of 186.5 m, a complement of 510, a full speed of 32 knots and a range of 6,000 nm. The Moskva is currently being modernized and repaired which should extend the life of the ship until the end of the 2020s. Another vessel of the same class, the Marshal Ustinov has just been refitted.

HMS Defender (D36) Air Defense / Guided Missile Destroyer, United Kingdom

The British Royal Navy has ordered six of the Type 45 "Air Defense Destroyers" for its fleet. Due to its lead ship naming ("HMS Daring (D32)"), the class is also recognized as the Daring-class. The Type 45 group succeeded the older Type 42 which entered service during the Cold War in 1975. The Type 45 ships have been in active service since July of 2009 when HMS Daring was commissioned.

Admiral Chabanenko (DD-650) Guided Missile Destroyer, Russia

To match the American Navy's Arleigh Burke-class multi-mission, guided missile destroyers, Soviet engineers were asked to develop a modernized solution through the existing Udaloy-class ships of fighting ships in 1982.

Kongō Class Guided Missile Destroyers,Japan

The Kongō class (こんごう型護衛艦 Kongō-gata Goeikan?) of guided missile destroyers serves as the core ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)'s Escort Flotillas. The Escort Flotillas of JMSDF operate four vessels. The Kongo Class is preceded by Hatakaze Class and succeeded by Atago Class destroyers.The Kongo Class were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI Corporation for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF).

Sejong the Great Class / KDX-III Class Destroyer, South Korea

The Sejong the Great-class destroyers (Sejongdaewang-Ham or Hangul: 세종대왕급 구축함, Hanja: 世宗大王級驅逐艦), also known as KD-III guided missile destroyers are being developed under the Korean Destroyer eXperimental (KDX) programme of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN).
Three units are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The destroyer class is also referred to as KDX-III.

Chungmugong Yi Sunshin Class / DDH-II Class Destroyer, South Korea

Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin (DDH-975)

Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers (Hangul: 충무공 이순신급 구축함, Hanja: 忠武公李舜臣級驅逐艦) are multipurpose destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship of this class, ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunsin, was launched in May 2002 and commissioned in December 2003. Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyers were the second class of ships to be produced in the Republic of Korea Navy's destroyer mass-production program named Korean Destroyer eXperimental, which paved the way for the navy to become a blue-water navy. Six ships were launched by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering  between 2002 and 2006. The destroyer class is also known as DDH-II.

Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, United States of America

Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay  is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the town of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, in southeastern Georgia, and not far from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submarine Base is the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's home port for U.S. Navy Fleet ballistic missile nuclear submarines armed with Trident missile nuclear weapons. This submarine base covers about 16,000 acres (6,400 hectares) of land, of which 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) are protected wetlands.

Arsenal de Brest, France

The Arsenal de Brest is a collection of naval and military buildings located on the banks of the river Penfeld, in Brest, France. It is located at  WikiMiniAtlas48°23′12″N 4°29′48″WCoordinates: 48°23′12″N 4°29′48″W.
Arsenal de Brest is also the headquarters of the French naval and oceanographic service.

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, United States of America

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps. It is located on the Southern California coast, in San Diego County, and bordered by Oceanside to the south, San Clemente, Cleveland National Forest, Orange and Riverside counties to the north, and Fallbrook to the east.

Izumo-Class Helicopter Destroyer, Japan

The Izumo class is a new type of helicopter carriers of the Japan's Marine Self-Defense Forces. Two ships of the class are planned. The new ships will replace ageing Shirane class ASW destroyers. The lead ship Izumo was launched in 2013. It was commisioned in 2015. It is the biggest Japanese warship since the World War II. It is even larger than the previous Hyuga class helicopter carriers.

Luyang-II Class / Type 052C Destroyer, China

The Type 052C destroyer (NATO code name Luyang II class, or Lanzhou class after the lead ship) is a class of destroyer built by China. It features a four array AESA multi-function phased array radar for 360-degree coverage. The radar is used in conjunction with vertically launched HHQ-9 long-range air defence missiles. The Type 052C was the first warship in the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force to have true long-range fleet air defence capability.

Udaloy Class Anti-Submarine Destroyers, Russia

The Udaloy I class are a series of anti-submarine destroyers built for the Soviet Navy, eight of which are currently in service with the Russian Navy. The Russian designation is Project 1155 Fregat (Frigate bird). Twelve ships were built between 1980 and 1991, while a thirteenth ship built to a modified design as the Udaloy II class followed in 1999. They complement the Sovremennyy-class destroyer in anti-aircraft warfare and anti-surface warfare operations.

The Type 39 / Song Class Attack Submarine, China

The Type 039 submarine (NATO reporting name: Song-class) is a class of diesel-electric submarines of the People's Liberation Army Navy. The class is the first to be fully developed within China and also the first Chinese submarine to use the modern teardrop hull shape.
The Type 039 / Song Class attack submarine was built by Wuhan Shipyard (Wuchang Shipyard) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. It was the first indigenously built submarine of China. The class is preceded by Type 035 (Ming Class) and succeeded by Type 041 (Yuan Class) submarines.

Type 093 Shang-class Nuclear Attack Submarine

The Type 093 (NATO designation Shang class) nuclear-powered attack submarine was developed since the mid-1980s under high secrecy. It is a successor to the Type 091 (Western designation Han class).
Development progress was slow due to enormous technical difficulties, including nuclear reactor and onboard weapon systems. It is speculated that development of the Shang class was assisted by Russian Rubin Central Design Bureau, one of the main Russian centers of submarine design.

NSSN Virginia Class Attack Submarine

The Virginia Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations.
The Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (hull classification symbol SSN) in service with the United States Navy. They were conceived as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class attack submarines, designed during the Cold War era, and they are planned to replace the older of the Los Angeles-class submarine, twenty-one of which have already been decommissioned (from a total of 62 built). The class was developed under the codename Centurion, renamed to NSSN (New SSN) later on. The "Centurion Study" was initiated in February 1991. Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service past 2060. Based on recent updates to the designs, some of the Virginia-class submarines are expected to still be in service in 2070.