The lead ship of the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers has completed her air sea acceptance trials (ASCT) with a Merlin Mk2 helicopter from QinetiQ at Boscombe Down. Completing the ASCT is a major milestone before the RFA Tidespring enters naval service. “Successful completion of these trials will c
The latest two additions to the Egyptian Navy’s fleet reached the country’s main naval base in Alexandria on October 18. S42, the second TKMS-built Type 209/1400 submarine, arrived in Alexandria together with corvette ENS El Fateh, the first Gowind 2500 corvette to be delivered to the Egyptian Navy
German Navy’s first Type 212A submarine ‘U 31’ is in the water again after spending almost three years in the docks undergoing repairs. As reported by the German Kieler Nachrichten, the submarine was lowered into water and brought alongside by a tug boat. The submarine has been in the dry dock since
Cammell Laird and BAE Systems announced an agreement to collaborate on the construction of Royal Navy’s future Type 31 frigates. Commercial shipbuilder Cammell Laird would act as prime contractor while BAE Systems would be supplying its warship design and combat systems expertise. The teaming agreem
Europe’s premier integrated air and missile defense drill Formidable Shield concluded October 17 with ally ships engaging a supersonic target off the coast of Scotland. The US Navy-led exercise began September 24 and saw the participation of warships from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherla
UK’s F-35B fighter jets are now cleared for take-off from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth after they passed land-based ski-ramp trials. This was announced by UK defense minister Harriett Baldwin who spoke on Tuesday before the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. “Success
RFA Tidespring, the first of four new tankers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s fleet, paid her first visit to Gibraltar on October 17. Sailing with an embarked Merlin helicopter during pre-commissioning workups, the tanker called in on the Rock for routine logistics support. She is the first of a flee
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Frankfurt am Main which damaged its stern in March this year is ready to deploy again after undergoing repair works in Kiel. The ship sustained stern damage while reversing into a sea lock at Wilhelmshaven navy base and had to sail for Kiel where it was repaired
US Navy transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) pulled into Souda Bay, Greece, on October 15, for a scheduled port visit and a mid-deployment voyage repair maintenance stop. The San Antonio-class ship USS San Diego arrived in Greece together with embarked Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Uni
The French Navy’s new ice-breaking and patrol vessel L’Astrolabe started her first ever mission to Antarctica getting underway from her homeport at Port des Galets, in La Réunion, October 12. L’Astrolabe deployed exactly two months after first arriving to her new homeport from Concarneau, France, wh
The Cypriot defense ministry and Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Larnaca hosted warships from France, Israel and Greece among others for the fourth consecutive exercise Nemesis 2017. The one-day exercise took place on October 17 in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus, with
Royal Navy’s bomb disposal experts carried out an unusual operation recently after a tanker carrying some 1,000 tonnes of fuel caught a test torpedo with its anchor. The tanker’s anchor had speared the torpedo in Portland, UK, and had dragged it up from the seabed, 15 meters below. Portsmouth-based
