Amphibious & Support Ships
Royal Navy destroyer trains with Romanian Navy during Black Sea tour
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring departed Constanta, Romania, on April 27 after a two-day visit and exercises with the Romanian Navy. The Portsmouth-based warship visited Constanta for a routine port visit on her way home after supporting maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf. De
NATO standardizes underwater data communication
All members of the NATO alliance have, for the first time ever, adopted a recently-developed standard for underwater acoustic communications. The standard is called Janus and was developed by NATO Science and Technology Organization’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE). “This ma
GDEB gets $95.5M for US, UK SSBN missile tube production
The U.S Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $95.5 million contract modification to continue development of the Common Missile Compartment for the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class submarine and the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought-class ballistic-missile submarine. The contract modification will enab
Trilateral amphibious drill concludes off Djibouti
Warships and personnel from U.S., U.K. and France completed a two-week multilateral amphibious exercise in international waters off the coast of Djibouti and in the vicinity of Djibouti and Arta Beach. Named Alligator Dagger 17, the exercise is led by U.S. Naval Amphibious Forces, and joined by forc
DCNS teams with Australia’s DMTC for naval solutions
French shipbuilder DCNS has signed an agreement with Australia’s Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) to collaborate on naval shipbuilding and repairs. According to DMTC, the agreement will see DMTC and DCNS collaborate on developing technical expertise and building industrial capacity within
UK MoD awards MBDA £539M in missile contracts
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded missile manufacturer MBDA a total of £539 million worth of contracts for delivery of new and service of existing missiles in the UK armed forces. More specifically, the contract will see MBDA deliver the Meteor air-to-air missiles for the F-35B jets that will o
Work begins on Royal Navy’s fifth River-class offshore patrol vessel
Works on the Royal Navy’s fifth follow-on River-class offshore patrol vessel began with a steel cutting ceremony on Friday, April 21. Tony Douglas, head of UK’s defense procurement organisation, pressed the button to cut the first sheet of steel for the HMS Spey at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard in Sco
Dutch Navy’s largest ship returns to sea after engine repairs
HNLMS Karel Doorman, the largest ship in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy, has taken to sea again after receiving a new engine during a reparation that lasted for almost a year. The amphibious, multi-function support ship returned to the Den Helder base in April last year with a broken engine
German frigate and NATO flagship runs aground in Greece
German Navy frigate and current flagship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 – FGS Brandenburg – ran aground on Monday morning while departing the port of Piraeus, Greece. The frigate collided with a jetty and sustained considerable damage. According to German media, FGS Brandenburg damaged her rudd
Polish Navy contracts Saab for RBS15 Mk3 missile maintenance
Polish Naval Port Gdynia contracted Sweden’s Saab for the maintenance and logistic support of the Polish Navy’s RBS15 Mk3 surface-to-surface missile system. Saab received this contract after partnering with Polish defense company MESKO, a member of Polish Armament Group (PGZ), last year. The contrac
Turkish Navy commissions first Bayraktar-class landing ship
The Turkish Navy commissioned the lead ship of a new class of landing ships, TCG Bayraktar, on April 14, Turkish minister of defense tweeted. This was first reported by Turkish Bosphorus Naval News who noted that the ship will remain under the shipyard’s warranty for 12 months. After the 12-month pe
Royal Navy frigate escorts Russian warships through the Channel
A Royal Navy frigate escorted two Russian corvettes which sailed through the English Channel on the night between April 15 and 16. Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland located the two Russian ships in the early hours of Friday morning as they sailed through the North Sea towards the Dover Straits. The two
Germany pulls tanker from NATO group after engine failure
German Navy tanker ‘Spessart’ had to be towed home from UK waters after experiencing problems with its engine during the Joint Warrior drill off Scotland. The 40-year-old ship broke down on March 27 and the extent of damage is yet to be determined, German Kieler Nachrichten reported. Spessart withdr
Italian aircraft carrier leaves Mediterranean Sea operation
Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi concluded its participation in the EU NAVFOR-led operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea. The carrier stepped down from its duty as flagship of the mission on April 4, some six month after joining the group. During its time spent with operation