UK defense contractor Babcock will be leading a team of industry partners in a bid for the Royal Navy’s new £1.25 billion Type 31e general purpose light frigate program, the company announced on Monday. According to the announcement, Babcock and Thales have joined forces with BMT, Harland & Wolff an
Finland’s Patria has contracted Swedish defense contractor Saab for work on the Finnish Navy Squadron 2000 mid-life upgrade program. The contract awarded to Saab is worth SEK 960 million (approx. US$117.7 million) with deliveries set to start in 2018. According to Patria, the total value of the upgr
The Russian Navy’s diesel-electric icebreaker ‘Ilya Muromets’ arrived at its Northern Fleet homeport on January 2, the Russian Navy announced. The ship’s crew made their first crossing from the Baltic Sea to the Kola Bay and were welcomed in Severomorsk by Northern Fleet commander Admiral Nikolay Ev
UK helicopter carrier HMS Ocean has reportedly been bought by Brazil. The purchase was confirmed by Brazilian defense minister Raul Jungmann, according to UK Defence Journal. Brazil is reportedly paying £84 million for the UK helicopter carrier which recently returned from her final deployment as a
The Russian Navy will be establishing a permanent presence at its Syrian bases after a deal signed with Syria was ratified by the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly. According to Russian news outlet RIA, the bill – submitted earlier this month – was ratified on Tuesday. In addition to the n
US Marines embarked aboard French amphibious assault ship LHD Tonnerre (L9014) concluded ten days of amphibious operations in the vicinity of Djibouti during the Alligator Dagger exercise. US marines and sailors from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Ma
The Royal Navy will have a total of 13 vessels and one of its four Vanguard-class submarines on deployment overseas and in home waters over the holiday season, according to the Royal Navy. What is missing from the list of deployed assets are any major warships as no frigates or destroyers are curren
The German defense procurement agency BAAINBw has reportedly returned FGS Baden-Württemberg, the lead ship of German Navy’s new class of F125 frigates, to the Blohm+Voss shipyard. According to a report in the German Kieler Nachrichten, BAAINBw has requested Blohm+Voss – which is part of the ARGE F12
A fire broke out at Irish Naval Base on Haulbowline Island, Cork, on December 21 and was extinghuished within a few hours. The blaze started on the upper floor of a disused building at the Naval Base at 8:30 p.m. local time, Irish Defence Forces said in a statement. There were no casualties reported
The Polish Navy decommissioned the first of its four Kobben-class submarines – ORP Kondor – in a ceremony at the naval port in Gdynia on December 20. With 50 years of service behind them, the remaining three submarines in the class are also set to be decommissioned in the near future. Kondor and its
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll recently carried out a test firing of the Sea Ceptor missile to verify the weapon system upgrade. The first firings of Sea Ceptor were conducted from HMS Argyll at the Hebrides range off the coast of Scotland and involved firing the system to assess its perfor
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean returned home to naval base Devonport on December 19, concluding her final deployment as a commissioned Royal Navy ship. The ship was scheduled to enter Devonport on December 20, welcomed by families and friends, but a forecast of thick fog brought her final o
Finland’s defense minister on December 19 authorized the country’s defense forces’ logistics command to sign contracts for the upgrade of Hamina-class fast attack missile craft (FAC). The authorization follows the signing of a letter of intent and a pre-design activities contract with Patria Aviatio
Taking a break from her Atlantic patrol duties, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay stopped in Bermuda on December 15 for a three day visit. The ship has been deployed to the region to provide humanitarian and disaster relief for the UK’s Caribbean overseas territories and Bermuda. This year RFA Mounts
