The UK defense minister has announced the five contenders shortlisted to compete for the contract to build Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. As outlined by Stuart Andrew, a British consortium of Babcock, BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce will be pitted against Italy’s
Leaks in HNoMS Helge Ingstad’s watertight compartments could be responsible for the frigate’s sinking following a collision in the Hjeltefjorden fjord, a preliminary report from the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) suggests. In addition to blaming the vessel’s lack of watertight integri
After concluding a visit to the Algerian port of Algiers last week, NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) arrived in Marmaris, Turkey, for a port call on November 27. The group is conducting the visits after resuming regular Mediterranean Sea patrols following their participation in NATO’s major
German Navy combat support ship EGV Bonn is getting underway from her Wilhelmshaven homeport on November 30 to join NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) in the Aegean Sea. The 173-meter-long Berlin-class replenishment ship is joining SNMG2 after completing an overhaul which started in August 20
Navy ships deployed to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG1) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) stopped in Karlskrona, Sweden, for a port visit from November 23 to 25. The port visit included visits to local military and civilian officials as well as tours of the ships f
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a keel laying ceremony for the first Qatari Navy Doha-class corvette at its Muggiano shipyard on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended, among others, by Brig. Mubarak Al Sulaiti, Deputy Chief of the Flotilla, on behalf of the Chief of the Navy, welcomed by Angelo Fu
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon has seized three tons of hashish in a Persian Gulf operation, the Royal Navy informed. The Portsmouth-based destroyer was on patrol in the Middle East when they came across a suspicious dhow – a type of vessel common to the Middle East – in a notorious drug sm
Rolls-Royce has been contracted to supply 18 of its MTU Series 4000 diesel generator sets which will be used to improve the reliability of Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer. The contract was awarded by BAE Systems who is the main contractor on the Power Improvement Project (PIP) which is being undertak
Months of rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Sea of Azov escalated on Sunday when Russian forces first fired upon and subsequently seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels as they were trying to enter the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Latest reports say six Ukrainian sailors were i
The UK Royal Navy has welcomed two major warships home from operations in Europe and Asia Pacific. On Friday, Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond returned home to Portsmouth after two months of operations in the Mediterranean while amphibious assault ship HMS Albion returned to Plymouth after a ten-month
The first of a new class of Royal Australian Navy’s auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) ships, the future HMAS Supply, was launched by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia at its Ferrol shipyard on November 23. HMAS Supply (II) was launched following a keel laying ceremony in November 2017. Supply and siste
The NHIndustries-developed NH90 Sea Lion has recently achieved two important milestones ahead of the official first delivery of the helicopter to the German Navy at the end of 2019. As announced by Airbus, all ground and flight tests for the qualification of the new NH90 variant were concluded in th
Royal Navy’s submarine-hunting Merlin helicopters recently left the flight deck of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for three weeks of exercises at the US Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). The ranges off Andros Island – south-west of Nassau – are centered on a natural
UK defense company BAE Systems announced it is investing £20 million into the development of augmented reality and artificial intelligence which will improve the capability of future combat systems. As explained by the company, the innovations will help naval personnel improve their decision making
