Amphibious & Support Ships
US, France, UK forces hone amphibious skills off Djibouti
Ships and personnel from U.S., UK and France have kicked off the two-week multilateral amphibious exercise Alligator Dagger 17. The drill is taking place in international waters off the coast of Djibouti and in the vicinity of Djibouti and Arta Beach, between April 5 and 20. Participating forces inc
Royal Marines repurpose 200 posts to better fit Royal Navy
The UK Royal Marines are being restructured to better fit the changing Royal Navy fleet, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, some 200 Royal Marine roles are being repurposed with around half of them being backroom function roles, like drivers and
UK MoD contracts SEA for Royal Navy ambient noise prediction system upgrade
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Cohort company SEA a contract to upgrade the ambient noise prediction system (ANPS) for the Royal Navy. The ANPS takes meteorological and oceanographic forecasts, together with oceanographic databases, and performs complex acoustic propagation calculations to p
Finland picks combat system tenderers for Squadron 2020 vessels
The Finnish Defence Forces’ Logistics Command announced the names of three shortlisted combat system bidders for its Squadron 2020 project vessels. Of a total of 8 companies competing for the contract, Finland has chosen German Atlas Elektronik GmbH, the Canadian Lockheed Martin Canada Inc and the S
Fincantieri launches bow-section of Italian Navy Vulcano-class LSS
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri launched the bow section of Italian Navy’s new logistic support ship in a March 10 ceremony in Riva Trigoso, Italy. The launched bow section is 94 meters long, 24 meters wide, 16.3 meters high, and weighs about 4.100 tons. It will now be transported by sea to the ship
Donald Trump launches missile strike against Syria
The United States has launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles on a military base in Syria, in what it says is a retaliation for the regime of Bashar Assad using nerve agents to attack his own people, that had occurred a few days earlier. The attack has been ordered by the U.S. president, Donald Trump,
820 Naval Air Squadron finishes HMS Ocean deployment
820 Naval Air Squadron has returned home to RNAS Culdrose following a six-month deployment on HMS Ocean, which took them through Europe and on to the Middle East. During her time away, HMS Ocean steamed over 23,000 miles, visited 11 countries and took part in various International exercises with loc
Raytheon Anschütz integrates WECDIS in UK Type 26 Global Combat Ship Program
Raytheon Anschütz announces the successful integration of Warship Electronic Chart Display Information System (WECDIS) into their Integrated Navigation and Bridge Systems (INBS) for the UK Royal Navy Type 26 Global Combat Ships. In support of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship program, Raytheon Anschütz
Royal Marines’ wings ready for action
The wings of the Royal Marines are ready for action with their French counterparts after a month’s training aboard the FS Mistral. Two Merlins from 845 NAS are assigned to the assault ship throughout her six-month deployment to the Indian and Pacific Oceans – the first time the green Merlins have go
EU NAVFOR reinforces need for vigilance at sea
Following the pirating of an Indian registered cargo dhow off the coast of Somalia on Saturday 1 April 2017, EU NAVFOR once again reiterates the need for vigilance to all ships transiting the piracy high risk area. Vessels are strongly recommended to adhere to self-protection measures laid down in t
Babcock becomes Royal Navy system support partner under £360m deal
UK defense contractor Babcock has been selected to become marine systems support partner (MSSP) for the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers. The company said it was selected as preferred bidder for all four elements of a Ministry of Defence program t
First Tide-class tanker reaches UK waters
RFA Tidespring, the lead ship of the new Tide-class tankers built for Great Britain by the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, arrived in the UK on April 2. Tidespring started her journey from South Korea in February after being officially accepted by the UK Ministry o
BAE Systems gets UK F-35B maintenance contract
The U.S. Department of Defense last week awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than £80m (US$102.2m) to deliver the initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II fleet over a three year period. Lockheed Martin has sub-contracted work worth £4
Australia issues Request for Tender for Future Frigates
The Australian government on Friday released the Request for Tender (RFT) for the Royal Australian Navy’s $35 billion Future Frigate project. The RFT was issued to the three shortlisted designers: British BAE Systems, Italy’s Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia. Minister for Defence Industry, Christoph