The second in a batch of five new Batch 2 River-class patrol vessels has been named in a ceremony in Scotland. Future HMS Medway was named on Friday by Wendy Fallon, wife of UK defense secretary Michael Fallon. The Royal Navy has previously named the first and third ship in the class. While being th
The lead ship of the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers has completed her air sea acceptance trials (ASCT) with a Merlin Mk2 helicopter from QinetiQ at Boscombe Down. Completing the ASCT is a major milestone before the RFA Tidespring enters naval service. “Successful completion of these trials will c
RFA Tidespring, the first of four new tankers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s fleet, paid her first visit to Gibraltar on October 17. Sailing with an embarked Merlin helicopter during pre-commissioning workups, the tanker called in on the Rock for routine logistics support. She is the first of a flee
US Navy transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) pulled into Souda Bay, Greece, on October 15, for a scheduled port visit and a mid-deployment voyage repair maintenance stop. The San Antonio-class ship USS San Diego arrived in Greece together with embarked Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Uni
The Romanian Navy has deployed its flagship frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 for a month of joint operations and exercises. The former Royal Navy Type 22 departed Constanta, Romania, on October 6 and will integrate into the NATO task group for operation Sea Guardian.
A Dutch and a Royal Navy ship recently completed what was termed by the Royal Navy as “the easiest RAS ever”, as support vessel RFA Mounts Bay took on fuel from Dutch ship HNLMS Karel Doorman in the Caribbean. A difficult – potentially dangerous – manoeuvre it’s typically performed mid-Ocean between
The Italian Navy’s first multipurpose offshore patrol vessel (PPA) received its gensets after they passed factory acceptance tests in July this year. Following the FAT, MAN Diesel & Turbo SE delivered four MAN 12V175D generating sets to Fincantieri’s Muggiano Shipyard, where the seven vessels (Pattu
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has started construction of the second Italian Navy multipurpose offshore patrol ship (PPA). The steel-cutting ceremony took place on October 3 at the shipbuilder’s Riva Trigoso, Genova, shipyard. The unit will be delivered in 2022 and is part of the Italian Navy vess
The UK Coastguard on October 4 said it was responding to an explosion aboard a dredging vessel two nautical miles South of Dodman Point, Cornwall. Several persons were injured in the explosion, according to the UK Coast Guard. The service only said the vessel in question was a dredger without provid
UK defense secretary Michael Fallon on Tuesday unveiled a new Royal Navy fleet support model bringing a spate of existing contracts under new, overarching arrangements. Called Common Support Model (CSM), the arrangement will provide a framework for comprehensive support across the Royal Navy’s fleet
The Brazilian Navy’s first upgraded Super Lynx Mk21B helicopter has performed its maiden flight from the Yeovil facility in southwest England. The flight success was announced by aerospace and defense company Leonardo which is in charge of upgrading eight Mk21B helicopters under a US$160 million con
Prior to the Chinook helicopter starting sea trials aboard the Royal Navy’s first MARS tanker, UK company SEA has performed a successful simulated flight trial. The company is providing modelling and simulation support to the UK MoD Chinook project team as a method of assessing key aircraft handling
The Royal Navy’s third Type 26, or City-class, frigate will be named Belfast, First Sea Lord Admiral Philip Jones announced on September 27. Whilst the second to be named, HMS Belfast is Ship 3 in the Type 26 programme. Ship 1 is called HMS Glasgow and Ship 2 is yet to be named. The future […
Ships from the US Navy’s Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BAT ARG), together with 4,000 sailors and marines aboard, returned to Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story on September 23 following a seven-month deployment. The amphibious group consists of assault ship U
