The Finnish defense forces have been cleared to sign a letter of intent and a pre-design activities contract with Patria for the upgrade of Hamina-class missile boats. The mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the four vessels in the class will be performed as part of the Squadron 2000 upgrade program and will
Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigates are getting upgraded air search radars which are to be delivered by CEA Technologies under a A$148 million contract. The frigates will be receiving the new CEAFAR2-L radar as part of a larger Mid-Life Capability Assurance Program (AMCAP). AMCAP will modif
The wreck of what is believed to be the Royal Navy’s WWII submarine HMS Narwhal has recently been found by hydrographers off the coast of Scotland. HMS Narwhal was last seen in late July 1940 when she left her base to lay mines off German-occupied Norway during the Battle of Britain. Sitting upright
Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines are set to receive upgraded control and communications systems under two separate contracts announced by the Australian government on October 4. The first project addresses obsolescence in the control system to allow safe operation of the submarines,
During an open house day on October 1, Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan unveiled the first large vessel to be designed and built in Canada under the National Shipbuilding Strategy The unveiled ship is also the Canadian Coast Guard’s first offshore fisheries science vessel (OFSV), named after Sir John Fr
Ships from 13 nations are taking part in the French-hosted exercise Brilliant Mariner which kicked off September 29. The exercise is attended by Standing NATO Maritime Groups one and two and the Standing Mine Countermeasure Group 2 in addition to the French Aero-Naval Rapid Reaction Force (FRMARFOR)
The US Army has picked Vigor Marine to build the service’s new landing craft, dubbed maneuver support vessel (light) – MSV(L). Worth almost a billion dollars ($979.7m), the contract is the largest award in Vigor’s history. The award comes concurrent with a “Milestone B” decision that moves the progr
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
Sri Lankan maritime forces welcomed their US counterparts to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, on October 1, where the two services will work together as part of the exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). This is the first ever CARAT exercise hosted by Sri Lanka. CARAT Sri Lanka 2017 is p
US sailors and marines from the Expeditionary Strike Group 3 and 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade are set to take part in amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz 2017 off the coast of Southern California, October 20-30. Dawn Blitz 2017 is a scenario-driven exercise designed to train the Navy and Marine Corps
Italian defense contractor Leonardo has opened a new office in Australia which will have a key role in Leonardo’s delivery as prime system integrator of the Anzac-class communications upgrade. Through its subsidiary Selex ES Australia Pty Ltd, Leonardo has been earlier chosen as the prime contractor
Warships taking part in the UK-hosted multinational drill Joint Warrior got underway on October 1 for a fortnight of exercises off the coast of Scotland. This is the second time this year the biannual drill is being held. The first one took place in March and featured or incorporated Information War
Sailors from the Royal Netherlands Navy’s landing platform dock HNLMS Rotterdam carried out a local maritime capacity building (LMCB) exercise with Seychelles military personnel. The activity took place on September 25 and 26 and was part of the ship’s regular EU NAVFOR activities. The LMCB focused
Taking part in the submarine escape and rescue exercise Dynamic Monarch for the first time, NATO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) supported the exercise using a new digital underwater acoustic communications capability providing more effective command and control to escape a
