diff --git a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
index f5e5d13ee..6ccd9fd7d 100644
--- a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
+++ b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: k8ssandra-operator
 description: |
   Kubernetes operator which handles the provisioning and management of K8ssandra clusters.
 type: application
-version: 1.18.0-SNAPSHOT
+version: 1.18.0
 dependencies:
   - name: k8ssandra-common
     version: 0.29.0
diff --git a/config/deployments/default/kustomization.yaml b/config/deployments/default/kustomization.yaml
index c0f91bb16..432a25908 100644
--- a/config/deployments/default/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/deployments/default/kustomization.yaml
@@ -5,4 +5,4 @@ resources:
   - ../../default
 images:
   - name: cr.k8ssandra.io/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator
-    newTag: latest
+    newTag: v1.18.0