The UK government should reverse its decision to put a £1 billion order for three new military support ships out to non-UK bidders, the country’s union for shipbuilding workers GMB said. As explained, the New Fleet Solid Support ships are needed to service the UK’s £6.3 billion Queen Elizabeth-class
The first of a fleet of over 30 new workboats that are to join the Royal Navy has started rough weather sea trials in the Irish Sea less than a month after being launched. In addition to being the first, the future HMS Magpie is also the largest of the batch. It is set to […]
A Spanish offshore patrol vessel replaced an auxiliary oiler as the Spanish Navy contribution to the counter-piracy effort off the Horn of Africa – operation Atalanta. On April 21, oiler ESPS Patino left the Somali basin after five months of operations as part of the EUNAVFOR-led operation. Filling
The UK defense ministry officially launched the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) on April 23. SDA will lead on the procurement, in-service support and decommissioning of all UK nuclear submarines. The announcement comes after an extra £800 million was secured by the defense ministry for the Royal Nav
The first in a new class of Royal Navy tankers – the RFA Tidespring – arrived at the Royal Navy’s Faslane base for her first visit to the Scottish establishment and for her first participation in a major international maritime exercise. Built specifically to support HMS Queen Elizabeth-class aircraf
The UK defense secretary cut the first turf on April 19 for a new facility at RAF Lossiemouth which will house the UK’s new fleet of Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The £132m site will be the future home to the country’s nine-strong, new P-8A Poseidon MPA fleet. The aircraft’s key role will
The UK-hosted multinational, tri-service exercise Joint Warrior is starting next week with warships and personnel already en route to the Scottish Coasts. The exercise will be attended by 16 nations who will take part in a range of maneuvers over a course of two weeks. Before the actual at sea maneu
The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrived in Helsinki, Finland, on April 18 for a scheduled port visit. The visit is aimed at enhancing US-Finland relations as the two nations work together to strengthen regional security and stability. It follows a bilat
French Navy frigate FS La Fayette seized over 400 kilos of heroin from a dhow it intercepted in the Indian Ocean in an operation on April 11. The drugs were intercepted after La Fayette’s Panther helicopter detected a suspicious vessel while on a routine surveillance in the international waters of t
Ships from Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) wrapped up historical ordinance disposal operations (HODOPS) with the French Navy entering Saint Malo, France, for a port visit on April 15. During the HODOPS, SNMCMG1 surveyed more than 90 square kilometers in Dieppe Bight, on the Fr
HMS Forth, the first of Royal Navy’s five new Batch-2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, entered service in a ceremony held at her Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, on April 13. At the ceremony, the ship’s Lady Sponsor, Rachel Johnstone-Burt, was joined by UK government and defense officials, a
UK’s F-35B Lightning jets which will be operated by the Royal Navy and Air Force recently achieved another first in their preparation for operations in UK skies. The Royal Navy has now shared photos of what it says is a first “full-British” aerial refueling of F-35B jets. To travel 4,134-miles acros
UK defense contractor BAE Systems has announced a £10 million (approx. $14.2m) investment into upgrades of the Maritime Integration & Support Centre (MISC) aimed at improving research into artificial intelligence, information and electronic warfare, unmanned vehicles and new weapons. Located in Port
Russian Navy’s new Project 23120 logistic support vessel ‘Elbrus’ has completed acceptance trials and was delivered to the navy’s auxiliary fleet. Elbrus was subsequently commissioned into the Northern Fleet in a ceremony held on April 4, according to the shipbuilder. Elbrus will be followed by a se
