Amphibious & Support Ships
Rain fails to spoil first day of Unmanned Warrior
A damp day across the Western Isles greeted the dozens of range staff, RN augmentees and Joint Warrior liaison teams who turned out before first light on the first official Unmanned Warrior flying day and headed for the brightly lit Range Control Building 12 miles south of Benbecula on the island of
BAE Systems bags Royal Navy combat system integration contract
BAE Systems announced Monday that it has signed a ten-and-a-half-year contract extension to provide combat systems integration services for Royal Navy’s in-service and future platforms. The contract includes, among others, Type 45 destroyers, the new Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers, and
Albanian, UK forces conclude exercise Albanian Lion
Royal Navy and Royal Marines joined Albanian forces for an exercise which is part of the Royal Navy’s annual deployment of a crisis-focused amphibious task group, the Joint Expeditionary Force Maritime 16 (JEF(M)16). Several Royal Navy ships, including HMS Ocean and HMS Bulwark played a role in Alba
NATO Response Force to be tested at ‘Noble Mariner’
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed. The maritime commander for the NRF rotates among different groups annually. For 2017, the NRF Maritime Component
Frazer-Nash bags Royal Navy ‘Safe to Operate’ contract
The UK Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Ships Operating Centre has awarded Frazer-Nash a contract for support on the delivery of ‘Safe to Operate’ Royal Navy equipment and platforms to the MOD. Frazer-Nash will be supported by BMT Cadence, BMT DSL and Survivability Consulting Limited on the unde
Saab, MESKO team up for Polish Navy RBS15 missile system maintenance
Sweden’s Saab and Polish defense company MESKO, a member of Polish Armament Group (PGZ), have entered a teaming agreement for long-term maintenance and support of the Polish Navy’s RBS15 Mk3 surface-to-surface missile system. Contracted in 2006, the RBS15 Mk3 is in service on-board the Polish Navy’s
Finish, Estonian Navy in mine warfare drill in Archipelago Sea
Navy vessels from Finland and Estonia are set to take part in a mine countermeasure exercise that will take place in the Archipelago Sea and in the Gulf of Finland between October 10 and 14. The exercise is called Baltic Shield 2016 and will include firing and mine counter-measures exercises. Accord
Italian multi-purpose vessels to be powered by Rolls-Royce engines
The Italian Navy has contracted Rolls-Royce to deliver 14 MTU diesel engines for the seven new multi-purpose ocean-going patrol vessels that are being built by Fincantieri. The PPA (Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura) multi-purpose ocean-going patrol vessels form part of the Italian Navy’s fleet ren
Spanish frigate trains with Seychelles Coastguard on port visit
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria, currently deployed to Operation Atalanta, has arrived in the Seychelles for a port visit. During the port visit ESPS Santa Maria sailors took the opportunity to conduct maritime training exercises with the Seychelles Coastguard and Maritime Police Unit. The tra
HMS Westminster first Type 23 frigate to complete life extension upgrade
Work on upgrades to the Royal Navy’s Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, HMS Westminster, have been completed at Portsmouth Naval Base, UK. The multi-million pound refit on the 24-year-old Duke Class frigate has followed several busy years of deployments across the globe and includes upgrades to weapo
French frigate bolsters Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa
French frigate La Fayette joined the EU Naval Forces’ counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean on September 28. Two days later, Italian frigate, ITS Euro said goodbye to the mission after 190 days of operations. In addition to carrying out a number of counter-piracy patrols in the
Unmanned Warrior kicks off, participants head for Scotland
Royal Navy’s unmanned and autonomous systems display exercise Unmanned Warrior 2016 has gotten underway as the teams headed north to Scotland for six weeks of exercises. Over 50 unmanned vehicles from more than 40 suppliers, major international companies and smaller bespoke contractors, academic ins
European navies to test amphibious capabilities during Emerald Move 2016
Navy ships and personnel from eight European countries are set to begin the second European amphibious exercise Emerald Move 2016 (ERMO) off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia on Monday, October 3. The ERMO 16 is an undertaking of the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI), an organization wh
QinetiQ bags 11-year contract extension for Royal Navy mission systems
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded QinetiQ an 11-year, £109 million contract extension to continue to develop and de-risk Royal Navy mission systems and infrastructure through integration and testing at Portsdown Technology Park, Portsmouth, UK. The renewal of the naval combat system integration