Contracts
Future US destroyer Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) completes builder’s trials
Bath Iron Works-built US Navy destroyer Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) completed builder’s trials late March after four days underway, the US Navy announced. Builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow the shipbuilder and the Navy to assess the ship’s systems and it
Royal Navy decommissions HMS Ocean
Royal Navy’s former fleet flagship and helicopter carrier HMS Ocean was decommissioned on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by Her Majesty The Queen at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. Queen Elizabeth, who is the ship’s lady sponsor, inspected the sailors and was later transported on an aircraft l
Qinetiq unveils design of new Portsdown Technology Park facility
Construction of a new naval testing facility at the Portsdown Technology Park (PTP) in Portsmouth, UK, is set to begin soon, UK defense technology company Qinetiq announced as it unveiled the facility’s design. Together with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Qinetiq is investing £23m in
Elettronica, partners ink MOUs for Aussie frigate program
Italian-based electronic warfare specialist Elettronica has laid the groundwork for further collaboration with Thales Australia and the Australian systems house Daronmont related to the potential construction of nine new frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. Under the Memoranda of Understanding, t
Qatari Coast Guard orders nine more vessels from ARES, BMT
UK-based engineering consultancy BMT and Turkey’s ARES Shipyard have received a new order from the Qatari Coast Guard which includes an additional nine vessels. The order was officially signed during Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) last week. The new order cove
UK MoD awards £160m Type 45 destroyer propulsion repair contract
The UK defense ministry has awarded a £160 million (approx. $226.5m) contract to a BAE Systems-led team to resolve the power and propulsion system issues experienced by Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers. The Power Improvement Project (PIP) will improve the resilience of the Type 45 class by installing
Photo: US Coast Guard cutter reaches Atlantic Beach homeport
The US Coast Guard’s 27th fast response cutter (FRC), Richard Snyder, arrived at its new homeport in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, on March 21. Richard Snyder is the first of its class to be homeported in Atlantic Beach. The FRC was buuilt by Bollinger Shipyards and received by the US Coast Guard
RFA Mounts Bay helping Turks and Caicos Islands tackle surge of migrant arrivals
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay arrived in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) waters on March 19 to help the the British overseas territory with a recent increase in the number of migrant arrivals from Haiti. TCI police and border control officials observed a surge in the number of illegal sloops
Dutch Navy’s first improved Goalkeeper CIWS passes sea acceptance trials
The Royal Netherlands Navy’s first upgraded Goalkeeper close-in weapon system recently passed its sea acceptance trials aboard landing platform dock HNLMS Johan de Witt, Thales – the company in charge of the system modernization – announced. The test came six years after the company was contracted f
US Coast Guard cutter Galveston Island retires after 26 years of service
The US Coast Guard decommissioned the Island-class cutter Galveston Island (WPB 1349) in a ceremony held at Coast Guard Base Honolulu on March 16. The 110-foot patrol boat was decommissioned after nearly 26 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts. Its years of service included law enfor
Damen wants to build German MKS180 ships in Hamburg
The Netherlands-based shipbuilding group Damen Shipyards is ready to build Germany’s new MKS180 frigates at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, the company has told German parliament members. This is according to a letter seen by German news agency Welt in which Damen, together with its bidding part
Third River-class OPV officially named
Trent, the third of five River-class offshore patrol vessels (OPV) being built for the Royal Navy, has been named. The naming ceremony took place in Govan, Glasgow on March 13, BAE Systems Maritime informed. Trent is now set to take to the water for the first time and make the short journey across t
US Navy names DDG 127 destroyer after Irish Marine Patrick Gallagher
The US Navy named its 76th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honor of Marine Corps Vietnam veteran and Navy Cross recipient Lance Cpl. Patrick Gallagher. In 1966, Gallagher, who immigrated from Ballyhaunis, Ireland in 1962, joined the Marine Corps where he served in H-Company, 2nd Batt
Australian Navy concludes major fleet exercise Ocean Explorer
The Royal Australian Navy concluded exercise Ocean Explorer, its largest fleet training activity for 2018. The exercise concluded on March 11 as ten ships and their embarked aircraft returned to Royal Australian Navy Base HMAS Creswell. “Most importantly it has seen more than 2,000 men and women fro