An operation to raise the almost-submerged Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad following a collision in the Hjeltefjorden fjord on November 8 is expected to be completed within some three weeks, the navy has said. Should all go according to plans, the stricken frigate will be loaded on
The Royal Navy has started Chinook helicopter trials for the Tide-class tankers off Portsmouth and in the Navy’s South Coast exercise areas. The trials for the largest helicopter in the UK armed forces inventory are taking place aboard RFA Tidesurge, the third of four ships in the class. The underta
The Royal Netherlands Navy’s new combat support ship that will be delivered in 2023 will be named HNLMS Den Helder, the navy announced on November 9. As the name of the new ship was announced, the defense ministry also shared a 3D animation of the ship arriving at the Den Helder naval base. Barbara
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond recently joined a Royal Navy submarine and a range of fighter jets and aircraft for two weeks of training in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The destroyer made extensive use of the facilities and equipment at Britain’s bases in Cyprus for the evolutions. The v
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has awarded Israeli unmanned systems specialist Elbit for unmanned aircraft system patrol services. As announced by the company, two-year contract has two single year option periods with a total value of €59 million (approximately $68 million) if all option
The UK defense ministry has awarded Thales UK a £93 million contract to upgrade the Royal Navy’s new Martlet missile which will be carried by Wildcat helicopters. The Martlet upgrade is part of a broader effort called Future Air Defence Availability Project which will see Thales UK in Belfast work t
A helicopter from the French Army 1st Combat helicopter regiment crashed aboard the amphibious assault ship BPC Dixmude during night-time flight operations on October 17. Four sailors were injured, one of them seriously, as the helicopter crashed during takeoff, the French defense ministry said. The
The US Navy has shared a photo of a Poseidon P-8A ASW maritime patrol aircraft conducting the type’s first operational aerial refueling over the Mediterranean Sea. US Navy Aircrewmen assigned to the “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 carried out the flight Oct. 15, 2018, while patrolling the US 6
F-35 Lightning fighter jets have dropped first test bombs during flight trials on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. The inert GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided precision bombs were dropped off the east coast of the USA, marking another significant milestone in the carrier’s tri
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was at the center of an important milestone for the F-35 program as an F-35B performed the first ever shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) British test pilot Peter Wilson conducted the landing this weekend. Previously the jets have conducted only
After welcoming her first F-35B fighter jets on the flight deck as part of first-of-class flight trials, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth recently welcomed two US Navy helicopter heavyweights on the deck. The first to land was the United States Navy’s biggest helicopter – the MH-5
The Turkish Navy-hosted exercise Mavi Balina concluded on October 9, after a week of evolutions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mavi Balina consisted of a port phase which started September 27 and transitioned to the at-sea portion on September 30. The biannual anti-submarine warfare exercise also
The second multilateral maritime exercise Mare Aperto in 2018 has begun in the Mediterranean Sea, with the participation of the Italian, French and the US navies. The exercise, designed to improve combined combat capability, increase operational capacity, and strengthen relationships among exercise
The eight Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy will be homeported in Devonport, UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. The 6,900-tonne frigates will be anti-submarine warships and will provide protection for the UK nuclear deterrent and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft car
