Latest news with #USVs
Al Etihad
09-07-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Al Seer Marine secures Dh760 million ADCB facility to finance its expansion plans
9 July 2025 10:07 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Al Seer Marine Supplies & Equipment Company, a leading player in the maritime sector and a subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC), has secured a Dh760 million ($207 million) financing facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) to support the next phase of its growth eight-year facility is backed by first-priority mortgages on selected operating vessels and marks the second major transaction between ADCB and Al Seer Marine. In early 2025, ADCB extended a Dh210 million ($57 million) facility to ASBI Shipping FZCO — a joint venture between Al Seer Marine and B Shipping — to fund acquisitions of small and midsize LPG on the development, Guy Neivens, CEO of Al Seer Marine, said, 'We're proactively optimising our capital structure to unlock high-value, high-growth opportunities and reinforce our role as a powerhouse in delivering the UAE's maritime vision. ADCB's continued partnership reflects deep institutional trust in our long-term strategy.'The company said the funding will reinforce capital efficiency and enable asset-backed expansion across LNG, LPG, crude oil, and petrochemical shipping segments. Al Seer Marine continues to attract the confidence of both local and global institutions, having previously secured support from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), and China's BOCOM this financial backing, Al Seer Marine is also driving strategic investments in areas such as naval shipbuilding, autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), and advanced manufacturing, including the world's largest 3D printer. The company positions itself as a future-ready maritime leader with capabilities spanning commercial shipping, yacht operations, and high-tech marine innovation. It is an ADX-listed company with a market capitalisation of Dh3.94 billion.
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Newsweek
Red Sea Ship Attack Threatens New War With Houthis
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Yemen's Houthi rebels have attacked a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, marking their first attack on international shipping since December and raising the prospect of renewed military conflict. The Liberian-flagged, Greek owned bulk carrier Magic Seas was targeted with rocket-propelled grenades, small arms fire, and explosive-laden drone boats, according to maritime security sources. The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying the strike was part of their continued support for Palestinians amid Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. While initial reports did not name the vessel, maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed it was the Magic Seas. Newsweek has reached out the Pentagon for comment. Why It Matters The attack shatters a relative calm in the Red Sea and could trigger a renewed Western military response. With previous Houthi attacks prompting U.S.-led airstrikes and multinational naval deployments, the Magic Seas incident could signal the beginning of a new phase in the conflict, with global shipping again at risk. Red Sea disruptions have already forced shipping companies to reroute vessels around Africa, bypassing the Suez Canal. This not only delays cargo but inflates global shipping costs—estimated to have surged by nearly $200 billion since the Houthi campaign began. In this photo released by the Etat-Major des Armées, the MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea after it was struck by a Houthi drone vessel, June 12, 2024. In this photo released by the Etat-Major des Armées, the MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea after it was struck by a Houthi drone vessel, June 12, 2024. Etat-Major des Armées/AP Photo What to Know According to Ambrey, the attack began with small skiffs opening fire with small arms and RPGs. The ship's Armed Security Team (AST) returned fire as the situation escalated. A short time later, four unmanned surface vessels (USV) approached the vessel. "Two of the USVs impacted the port side of the vessel, damaging the vessel's cargo. The remaining two USVs were intercepted and destroyed by the AST," the alert stated. On its official X account, MarineTraffic released tracking data of the Magic Seas, providing a detailed view of the vessel's route and nearby maritime activity in the lead-up to the attack. The playback offers insight into the ship's movements and the surrounding traffic prior to the incident. Bulk carrier attacked in the Red Sea The Magic Seas, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier en route from Zhuhai, China to the Suez Canal, was attacked in the Red Sea on 6 July off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen. She was laden with steel products and fertiliser, according to… — MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) July 7, 2025 Vow to Continue Campaign Posting to their Al Ansar Telegram channel, the Houthis said the ship fit their criteria for targeting. "Four naval drones attacked a ship," they said. "Two naval drones collided with the left side of the ship, causing damage to its cargo." The group tied the operation to their broader campaign in support of Gaza, consistent with their prior attacks on Red Sea shipping since November 2023. Israel Hits Houthi Ports The attack comes after Israel's military escalation against the Houthis intensified over the weekend, as it launched airstrikes on three key ports—Hodeidah, Ras Isa, and Salif—along with the Ras Kathib power plant and radar equipment on the seized Galaxy Leader vessel docked in Hodeidah. The strikes, Israel's first in nearly a month, followed the interception of a missile launched from Yemen earlier that day. In retaliation, the Iran-aligned Houthis fired additional missiles and drones toward Israel, prompting sirens but causing no reported casualties or damage. Houthi supporters shout slogans during a weekly, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, July 4, 2025. Houthi supporters shout slogans during a weekly, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, July 4, 2025. Osamah Abdulrahman/AP Photo What People Are Saying Ambrey Maritime Security Alert: "Two of the USVs impacted the port side of the vessel, damaging the vessel's cargo. The remaining two USVs were intercepted and destroyed by the AST." Houthi Statement on Telegram: "Four naval drones attacked a ship. Our assessment indicates that the attacked ship meets the Yemeni criteria for targeting ships." What Happens Next It is not yet clear whether this strike marks the start of a new phase of Houthi operations or is a one-off incident. U.S. Navy and European maritime forces have not issued formal responses, but renewed military engagement appears likely if the pattern of attacks continues.
Kuwait Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Interior Minister inaugurates unmanned surface vessels to bolster maritime security
KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Saud Al-Sabah on Monday inaugurated the unmanned surface vessels (USVs) that newly added to the Kuwait Coast Guard fleet at the General Directorate of the Coast Guard. The ceremony was attended by Major General Ali Mesfer Al-Adwani, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and Major General Mujbil Fahad bin Shawq, Assistant Undersecretary for the Border Security Sector, as part of a comprehensive plan to enhance maritime security through advanced technology. Brigadier General Sheikh Mubarak Ali Al-Sabah, Director General of the Coast Guard, provided a detailed briefing on the USVs' advanced operational capabilities, noting their ability to operate autonomously for several days without direct human intervention. He highlighted their key missions, including surveillance, continuous monitoring, interception of suspicious maritime targets, support for search and rescue operations, environmental pollution monitoring, protection of natural resources, and overall enforcement of maritime security within Kuwait's territorial waters. The First Deputy Prime Minister also inspected the state-of-the-art maritime monitoring system currently being implemented, which covers Kuwait's entire maritime domain. This integrated system combines coastal radars, sensors, high-resolution cameras, and unmanned surface vessels under a unified command and control framework powered by artificial intelligence. In addition, Sheikh Fahad toured the maritime operations center and the control center responsible for operating the USVs. He reviewed their operational mechanisms, monitoring systems, and the electronic network linking maritime units with command centers. Sheikh Fahad praised the General Directorate of the Coast Guard for successfully executing this landmark project, affirming that the deployment of unmanned surface vessels marks a significant advancement in Kuwait's maritime security capabilities through modern technology. He emphasized that this initiative underscores the Ministry of Interior's dedication to operational readiness and the adoption of innovative solutions to safeguard Kuwait's coasts and territorial waters, thereby supporting national security, stability, and protecting the country's vital interests. — KUNA
France 24
17-06-2025
- Business
- France 24
Taiwan tests sea drones as China keeps up military pressure
With Beijing sustaining military pressure on the island, Taiwan is increasing investment in aerial and maritime drones, which have been widely used in Russia's war in Ukraine to outfox traditional heavy weaponry. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. Twelve local and foreign companies took part in an Uncrewed Sea Vehicle (USV) demonstration hosted by the government's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Yilan, southeast of Taipei. It was an opportunity for "potential clients such as the military and coast guard" to collect data from the drone manufacturers for future mass production, the institute said in a statement. Taiwanese shipbuilder Lungteh's Black Tide sea drone, which is designed to operate in "contested environments", was one of three USVs put through its paces. With a top speed of more than 43 knots (80 kilometres per hour; 50 miles per hour), the Black Tide can be used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and "one-way strike", according to the company. Meanwhile, Carbon-Based Technology Inc's "stealth" USV could carry bombs and was cheap enough to conduct "sacrificial" missions, said company director Stacy Yu after the drone was tested. While President Lai Ching-te has pledged to make Taiwan "the Asian hub" for drone production, there have been challenges to ramping up the island's output. Taiwan's annual production capacity for aerial drones is between 8,000 to 10,000 units, well below its 2028 target of 180,000 units, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) said in a report on Monday. High manufacturing costs from using non-China components made it "difficult for Taiwanese products to compete with Chinese-made products in the commercial market," DSET analysts said. And limited domestic orders and a scarcity of foreign government contracts were also impeding "further scaling" of production, it said.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AIM-9X Being Used By Ukraine's Drone Boats To Engage Russian Jets, Not AIM-9M
As part of a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Ukrainian Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov talked to The War Zone about his agency's game-changing drone boat campaign against Russia's Black Sea Fleet (BSF). These operations are ongoing. Ukraine just launched another unmanned surface vessel mission against Russian-held oil platforms in the northern Black Sea area. Budanov has also told us that Ukraine's drone boats are actually using the more advanced AIM-9X Sidewinder instead of legacy AIM-9Ms, as previously reported, to attack Russian aircraft. You can also check out the first part of our interview with Budanov, where we discussed exactly what North Korea is getting in exchange for its support of Russia's invasion here. Ukraine's drone boat campaign in the Black Sea has proven that a nation with nearly no remaining traditional navy but an array of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) can keep one of the world's largest sea services at bay. Over the course of the past three years, Ukraine's USVs have attacked Russian ports, ships and the Kerch Bridge. They have forced Russia's Black Sea Fleet (BSF) to avoid operating in the open waters of the northern Black Sea, and limit activities in other areas. The campaign began with kamikaze drone boats, laden with explosives and set out on one-way missions to hit Russian targets. Ukraine has since made a series of advancements, turning its USVs into reusable anti-aircraft platforms, first-person view (FPV) drone launchers and even gunboats. As we previously noted, Ukraine's early drone boat attacks on the BSF were a 'wakeup call' marking 'a new point in unmanned warfare.' The lessons of its ongoing campaign have been noted by the U.S. Navy, Cmdr. Michael Linn said In early May, we were the first to report that Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) used its new Magura V7 USV, armed with a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, to shoot down a pair of Russian Su-30 Flanker fighters flying over the Black Sea. At the time, all indications were that this was the legacy AIM-9L/M model, which seemed strange — more on that in a moment. But now we know AIM-9Xs were actually used. The Su-30 downing followed GUR's claimed downing of a Russian Mi-8 Hip helicopter over the Black Sea in December using an adapted R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missile fired from a Magura V5 USV, an earlier variant of the Magura V7. The latest example of these ongoing operations took place around the gas extraction towers in the Black Sea that Russia still holds and has been using as radar, drone signal repeater and general surveillance positions. Over the weekend, Ukrainian drone boats, some armed with FPV drones and machine guns, attacked one of those towers, according to Ukrainian and Russian sources. 'As soon as our specialists land on the tower (and they land specialists, whose qualifications are unique) – the enemy immediately begins to destroy them 'like in a shooting gallery,'' the Russian Romanov_92 Telegram channel wrote on Saturday. 'They shoot from afar with large-caliber machine guns (the [gas extraction tower] is essentially a container and there is nowhere to hide – everything is sewn up), and they also attack with [USVs] with FPV.' Romanov_92 posted video showing 'one of these Ukrainian Armed Forces [USVs] near the [gas extraction tower] in the FPV carrier version (under the black cover there are four FPVs, the launch principle is similar to how it was used 'on trucks').' You can see that video in the following posting on X. The Armed Forces of Ukraine used sea drones with machine guns and FPV against elite Russian units that landed on platforms in the Black Sea, Russian military officials whine — Malinda (@TreasChest) June 8, 2025 On the day the gas extraction tower attack was taking place, Budanov talked to TWZ about GUR's drone boat operations and the future of its fleet. The following questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity. Q: We've talked about your drone boat campaign before. Can you talk about any new developments? A: Currently in the Black Sea, the enemy is using exclusively aviation and three, sometimes four, armored boats and nothing else. And I'm not taking into consideration [the rate of ships] from the Novorossiysk Naval Base to conduct shelling and go back. The fleet is fully blocked. And that thing that Russians previously joked about, that Ukraine has no fleet, at least only a few boats. Now they are faced with the same thing. So nominally, Russians have a fleet, but actually in the sea, you can see three and sometimes four armored boats. And these boats are used to deliver a duty shift to areas where they still have some occupied sea gas extraction towers, and also to evacuate personnel from these towers. And also a few times they tried to attack gas extraction towers, which are under our control, with FPV drones. The control of the Russian Federation, in the Black Sea is the use of aviation. But we are trying to counter this also. Q: How? A: Our Magura V7 recently downed aircraft, I think you know. (You can see that engagement in the video below.) World first: On May 2, 2025, the @DI_Ukraine special operations unit, in coordination with the Security Service of Ukraine and Defence Forces of Ukraine, eliminated a russian Su-30 fighter jet in the Black Sea. — Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) May 3, 2025 And yesterday [Friday, June 6], our Magura V7 attacked two Russian fighters in the Black Sea. So one of them was able to make a maneuver and to withdraw. And the second one we are currently [trying to find out if we damaged] it, or it was also withdrawn. Now we are trying to understand. Q: What kind of jets and what did the Magura's use to shoot at them? A: Yesterday, it was against two Su-30s. Q: What did they use to shoot at them? A: The missiles are the same [as the last time]. AIM-9X. The first aircraft we were not capable to damage or engage with, it was able to shoot flares and withdraw. And concerning the second jet, we are trying to understand, because we've heard on the radio that the pilot of this jet said that 'I'm being attacked' and then made a maneuver. But taking into account that it was the second missile from Magura and Magura started to withdraw, we don't know if the second jet was engaged or not. Right now we are trying to understand if this jet was down in the sea or not, because there was no communication with this aircraft anymore, but before we find any evidence of the destruction of this aircraft, I cannot tell you anything more. Q: Why use the AIM-9X instead of the R-73? What advantage does the Sidewinder have? A: The AIM-9x missile demonstrated better characteristics than the R-73 despite the fact that they have similar technical characteristics. We going to break away form the interview for a moment to address this discrepancy. From the first time we saw this configuration, we questioned why the AIM-9M would be used, considering its small field of view for locking on targets. The AIM-9X makes much more sense. The AIM-9Ms on the Magura-7 are loaded on aircraft-style launch rails that would be elevated before launch, but do not appear to provide any lateral traverse. This is significant since, as TWZ has pointed out previously, the M variant of the Sidewinder lacks the high-off-boresight (HOBS) capabilities of the aforementioned R-73. Missiles with HOBS engagement capability feature articulating seekers that make it easier for them to lock onto dynamic targets when loaded on a fixed launch rail. As such, the AIM-9M-armed Magura-7 looks as if it would have to be physically pointed relatively precisely in the direction and vertical angle of the target before launch. Meeting the parameters for a successful intercept from this platform could be very challenging, especially with the added factor of the drone boat bouncing up and down on the waves. Getting the targeted aircraft at the right height and distance to enter into the seeker's more limited viewing envelope wouldn't be that easy and it may require some amount of luck, at least based on the general launcher configuration we are seeing. The use of the AIM-9L/M was supported via evidence as it was seen in the only photos of this configuration of the drone boat. We continued to question the efficacy of this arrangement. Now we know that this was indeed not the case, and the AIM-9X was actually being employed. The AIM-9L/Ms were likely used for testing and for exhibition purposes. Now back to the interview. Q: Any other developments on the Magura line, in terms of drone launching, in terms of missiles, in terms of any other kind of offensive capabilities like machine guns? A: We already have Maguras with machine guns, and they are already working. And basically yesterday, a Magura with machine guns covered the operation of the Magura with missiles. Q: Can you provide more detail about the role of the Magura V7 with machine guns? A: Its task is to avoid the advance of, if such will happen, the advance of the enemy boats to the Maguras with missiles. Because we are having business with the four boats. That's why it's quite a good task for Magura. Q: How did your Magura V7s with FPV drones perform in the attack on the Black Sea gas extraction towers? A: We used it, but it did not have a good effect. The Russians used boats with FPV drones against us. Q: The Magura V7 is the seventh generation of your Magura line. Is there a Magura V8 on the way? A: Not yet. They do not exist, but it will be the next step. Q: What will it do? A: We will try to improve the command and control system, and we'll try to increase the speed of the drone. And besides, currently, we are working on the surface drone for signals intelligence. Q: Do you have underwater drones that you are working with or are under development? A: It's not with the underwater drones. It's not something that can be used, and we have different projects, but currently we're working on them. But it's not a drone that can be massively produced at the moment. They have a lot of problems. Q: What kind of problems? A: First of all, the command and control system. Ukraine's drone boat campaign and the advancements made by GUR are now serving as a roadmap for how relatively inexpensive uncrewed surface vessels can present credible threats to much larger, far costlier warships. The success of these operations are being watched by naval forces all around the world. Contact the author: howard@
