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
The Irish Navy’s fourth Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), future LÉ George Bernard Shaw, was floated out at Babcock’s Appledore, North Devon, shipyard, the shipbuilder has announced. The float out of the 90-meter ship was attended by representatives from the Irish Naval Service and
The Turkish Navy commissioned its second Landing Ship Tank (LST) ‘Sancaktar’ in a ceremony on April 7, the Turkish undersecretary for defense industries announced. The commissioning of TCG Sancaktar comes almost exactly a year after the lead ship in the class, the TCG Bayraktar, was commissioned on
The EU-led counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia has welcomed a new force commander in a ceremony held in Djibouti on April 5. Italian Navy Rear Admiral Simone Malvagna will now be in charge of operation Atalanta from aboard his flagship, FREMM frigate ITS Carlo Margottini. The frigate i
A new naval support facility in Bahrain for Royal Navy operations was officially opened in a ceremony on April 5. The facility will be the hub of the Royal Navy’s operations in the Gulf, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The base will be capable of meeting the needs of British warships operating in the regi
Italian Navy’s multi-purpose research vessel ITS Alliance is set to return to its homeport in La Spezia, Italy, on April 6, concluding a 79-day mission in waters off Iceland and Greenland. Alliance’s mission was to support a project carried out under the custody of NATO’s Center for Maritime Researc
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia officially started construction works on the second Royal Australian Navy auxiliary and replenishment oiler (AOR) with a steel cutting ceremony on April 4. First steel for the ship was cut at the company’s Fene facility in northwestern Spain. According to Navantia, const
HNLMS Karel Doorman, the Royal Netherlands Navy’s multi-purpose amphibious ship, got underway from its Den Helder homeport on April 4 to join the NATO-led operation Sea Guardian. Karel Doorman will spend the next nine weeks patrolling the Mediterranean Sea monitoring patterns-of-life to detect suspi
Loire, the first of four French Navy’s Offshore Support and Assistance Vessels (BSAH), has been delivered to the country’s Defence Procurement Agency (DGA). The delivery took place on March 22, 2018. Built by Kership, the newbuild was launched in June 2017. Featuring a length of 70.3 meters and a wi
US Navy’s forward-deployed guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) completed a four-month patrol in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, returning to Rota, Spain, on March 31. While on patrol, Carney conducted missions in support of regional allies and partners in the Mediterranean and Black Sea re
Italian defense company Leonardo has signed a grant agreement for OCEAN2020, the first European Defence Fund’s initiative project aimed at boosting Europe’s defense research. The project – which will be funded by a grant totaling around EUR 35 million – will be led by Leonardo, which will coordinate
