The UK defense ministry announced it has ordered an additional 17 F-35 stealth jets, doubling the total number of aircraft ordered. The 17 new F-35B aircraft will be delivered between 2020 and 2022 and will complement the 16 British aircraft currently based at RAF Marham and in the US, as well as tw
An operation to raise the almost-submerged Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad following a collision in the Hjeltefjorden fjord on November 8 is expected to be completed within some three weeks, the navy has said. Should all go according to plans, the stricken frigate will be loaded on
Turkish shipbuilder Ares announced it has been awarded a contract to deliver fast patrol vessels to the Royal Oman Police Coast Guard (ROPCG). As noted by Ares, this is Turkey’s first naval export program to Turkey. ROPCG has ordered a total of 14 ‘Ares 85’ patrol and interceptor vessel. They are sc
The Belgium Naval & Robotics consortium composed of French companies Naval Group and ECA Group has joined forces with Belgium’s Flanders Ship Repair with the aim of securing work on the Dutch-Belgian minehunter replacement program. Belgium Belgium Naval & Robotics has launched an industrial offer an
Latest photos of the stricken frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad shared by the Royal Norwegian Navy on Tuesday reveal that the frigate is now almost completely underwater. In a social media update in the early morning hours of Tuesday, the navy said unexpected events “complicated” plans for the salvage ope
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a keel laying ceremony for the third Italian Navy multipurpose patrol ship at its Riva Trigoso shipyard on November 8. The third Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura (PPA) ship will also be the first in a “Light+” configuration. It is expected to be launched in 202
The name of the UK capital will return to the Royal Navy fleet with the eighth Type 26 frigate, Royal Navy’s First Sea Lord has announced. The future HMS London joins the previously-named HMS Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, and Birmingham while the fifth, sixth, and seventh ship are yet to be named. The
French shipbuilder Naval Group has established a Dutch subsidiary, Naval Group Netherlands, in a bid to secure a role in the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Walrus-class submarine and Tripartite-class mine countermeasures ship replacement programs. Led by Mark van Rooij, Naval Group Netherlands will serve
The Royal Navy has started Chinook helicopter trials for the Tide-class tankers off Portsmouth and in the Navy’s South Coast exercise areas. The trials for the largest helicopter in the UK armed forces inventory are taking place aboard RFA Tidesurge, the third of four ships in the class. The underta
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, for a port visit on November 10, after completing its participation in NATO exercise Trident Juncture. The carrier dropped anchor in Portugal after over a month of operations in the North Atlantic and becoming the first US carr
After receiving a contract from Rohde and Schwarz Ltd to provide the twin integrated main communications masts for the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates, STS Defence contracted Mainstay Marine to build, fabricate and outfit the integrated communications masts for the first three frigates in the clas
The French defense procurement agency DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) has contracted missile-maker MBDA to develop the next generation of the MICA missile. The Missile d’Interception et de Combat Aérien Nouvelle Génération program will develop the new air-to-air missile for the French Navy an
