Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri officially started construction of the first of two Qatari Navy offshore patrol vessels in a ceremony at its Muggiano shipyard on February 27. The two OPVs will be built as part of a larger, 4 billion euro, contract which will see Finantieri deliver a total of seven s
The US Navy has completed developmental testing for the AN/AQS-20C mine-hunting sonar system for littoral combat ships at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, February 26. The AQS-20C is the next generation of the AN/AQS-20 system designed to be incorporated into the LCS mine coun
The wreckage of US Navy’s World War II destroyer USS Strong (DD 467) was discovered by the expedition crew of Paul G. Allen’s research vessel (R/V) Petrel resting 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) below the surface of Kula Gulf, north of the island of New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. The destroyer
US Navy’s Independence variant littoral combat ship Charleston (LCS 18) is set to enter service in a ceremony at Charleston, South Carolina’s Columbus Street Terminal, on March 2. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Charlotte Riley, wife of f
The UK defense ministry has awarded Rolls-Royce Submarines Limited a £235 million (US$309 m) contract to support nuclear propulsion systems on board the current fleet of Trafalgar, Vanguard and Astute class submarines until 2022. The deal will see the company provide the support, advice and material
US Navy submarine USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) pulled into Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Stirling on Garden Island after completing training activities with four Australian Collins-class submarines. Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine Santa Fe took part in a joint training exercise with HMAS Collins
Royal Navy attack submarine HMS Astute and Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans met up in the tough waters of the Atlantic Ocean recently to work together on their anti-submarine warfare capabilities and conduct personnel transfer training. St Albans’ Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron – aka the
Marine propulsion specialist Fairbanks Morse announced it has been awarded a contract to build and deliver emergency diesel generator (EDG) sets for US Navy’s two future nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and the yet-to-be-named CVN-81. These ships will be the US Navy’s t
The sixth Warspite, a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, earned more battle honors than any other single warship in Royal Navy history.
The Brazilian Navy has ordered three H135 light twinengine helicopters to be operated by the 1st General Purpose Helicopter Squadron (HU-1). According to Airbus, the aircraft is being procured for special operations, transport of troops and freight, naval inspection, search and rescue and medical ev
The Finnish defense ministry on February 21 announced it is buying Raytheon’s Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) systems for its Pohjanmaa-class corvettes of the Squadron 2020 project. The surface-to-air missile system (ITO20) will be installed on all four ships in the class. The exact number of miss
FS Bretagne, the French Navy’s fifth FREMM frigate, has officially entered service after completing its maiden deployment. The French Navy admits ships into active service only after they complete their first operational tasking. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configured FS Bretagne started constructi
Ultra Electronics is part of the winning Canadian Surface Combatant team.
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) entered the Black Sea on February 19. Donald Cook entered the Black Sea after last visiting the region in January 2019, when it visited Batumi, Georgia and con
