Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a steel cutting ceremony for the Italian Navy’s multipurpose amphibious unit (LHD or Landing Helicopter Dock) at its Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on July 12. The approx. 200 meters long LHD will have a maximum speed of 25 knots and will be equipped with a com
HMS Montrose, the latest Royal Navy frigate to complete her modernization in Devonport, set sail on July 7 for the first time in almost three years. The Type 23 frigate began her refit in 2014 and the opportunity was seized to fit her with the newly developed Sea Ceptor missile system. Sea Ceptor an
NATO is eyeing the German naval station Warnemünde as logistical support for ships assigned to its maritime task groups, German media are reporting. According to the Ostsee-Zeitung which received a confirmation from the German defense ministry, Germany had earlier offered NATO to share the base in R
Defense forces from 17 countries are attending the multinational Black Sea exercise Sea Breeze which is taking place from July 10 to 22, in Ukraine. The exercise is co-hosted by the U.S. and Ukraine and will involve air, land, sea, and amphibious forces. The annual recurring multinational exercise i
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has ordered additional 18 CB90-class fast assault craft from Swedish boat builder Dockstavarvet under a SEK 400 million (approx. US$47.3m) contract. The new combat boats, referred to as Stridsbåt 90HSM (M standing for modernized), will be an improved
NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2017 concluded in the North Atlantic Ocean on July 6. Led by NATO’s Allied Maritime Command, the exercise gathered units from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Th
Russian Navy’s advanced Project 20380 corvette, the Sovershenny, has taken the Ka-27 helicopter aboard during the recent official tests, according to TASS. The Ka-27 antisubmarine search and rescue helicopter landed over 20 times on the corvette during the day and night while the corvette was in mot
The first of the Royal Navy’s next-generation frigates will be laid down before the month is out after a £3.7 billion order was placed for three Type 26s. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon yesterday announced the contract with BAE Systems to deliver the first batch of global combat ships. They wi
The Royal Navy is sending two warships to NATO missions in the Mediterranean Sea, UK’s defense secretary Michael Fallon confirmed at the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Multi-role survey ship HMS Enterprise is already underway and is set to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter
U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) on June 16 became the U.S. Navy ship to complete a 60-day Surface Incremental Availability (SIA) at the Rota naval base in Spain. Porter serves as one of the navy’s four forward deployed guided-missile destroyers home-ported in Rota, Spain t
German defense contractor and sensor manufacturer Hensoldt is to acquire UK radar specialist Kelvin Hughes after owner ECI Partners agreed to sell its investment in the company. The announcement follows Hensoldt’s acquisition of EuroAvionics in May this year. Hensoldt is a new company, spun off from
BAE Systems and Leonardo are teaming up for the development of new precision-guided munitions for advanced, large caliber weapon systems. The companies are expecting to offer new adaptations of Leonardo’s Vulcano — a family of gun-launched munitions that exceed the performance of currently available
NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) will be led by a Latvian Navy commander following a change of command ceremony at the Port of Riga on Thursday. Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa of the Estonian Navy turned over command of the group after leading aboard the flagship, Estonian c
The crew of a Royal Navy helicopter rescued the last survivor of a tanker which sank in the Indian Ocean on June 26. The Wildcat helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth rescued the 13th survivor from tanker Rama 2 which sank 140 miles off the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Yemen. The [
