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Spanish frigate trains with Seychelles Coastguard on port visit
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria, currently deployed to Operation Atalanta, has arrived in the Seychelles for a port visit. During the port visit ESPS Santa Maria sailors took the opportunity to conduct maritime training exercises with the Seychelles Coastguard and Maritime Police Unit. The tra
French frigate bolsters Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa
French frigate La Fayette joined the EU Naval Forces’ counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean on September 28. Two days later, Italian frigate, ITS Euro said goodbye to the mission after 190 days of operations. In addition to carrying out a number of counter-piracy patrols in the
UK starts construction of Successor nuclear submarines
The United Kingdom is starting construction work on the next-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon revealed this as he announced nearly £1.3 billion of funding was awarded to BAE Systems to start the ‘Delivery Phase 1’ of the Successor program.
European navies to test amphibious capabilities during Emerald Move 2016
Navy ships and personnel from eight European countries are set to begin the second European amphibious exercise Emerald Move 2016 (ERMO) off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia on Monday, October 3. The ERMO 16 is an undertaking of the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI), an organization wh
ASV Global gets MOD licence for MAST USV software use
The U.K. Ministry of Defence has given ASV Global a licence to use its Advanced Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Capability technology. The contract has been signed through Ploughshare Innovations, the technology transfer arm of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The licence is cent
Royal Navy to deploy Type 45 destroyer to Bulgarian shores next year
UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that Britain would be sending a Type 45 destroyer to Bulgarian shores in the Black Sea next year. The Royal Navy deployment is part of a broader goal to deepen the defense relationship between the two countries to help tackle security threats in South Ea
Royal Navy destroyer hosts Operation Sophia force commander
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond that recently joined Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean, hosted the Commander of the EU Taskforce carrying out the mission. The destroyer sailed from Portsmouth in August to support the operation to counter illegal arms trafficking in order to promote a
Australian companies get opportunity to join Royal Navy’s Type 26 program
Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have the opportunity to enter the supply chain for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship program. BAE Systems, the company in charge of developing the frigate, announced that some 150 Australian companies would pitch their products and
Finnish Navy announces participation in Emerald Move 2016 amphibious drill
The Finnish Navy said it would be joining the European exercise Emerald Move 16 which is set to take place in Italy in September and October. The main objective of the exercise is to showcase the participating countries’ ability to command and maintain augmented amphibious brigade-level units and de
Finnish Navy signs LOI for Squadron 2020 ice-going OPVs
Following a request for information (RFI) for its Squadron 2020 project to construct four ice-going offshore patrol vessels, the Finnish Navy has now signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Rauma-based shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions. If the LOI is realized, the company will build f
European Border and Coast Guard gets final green light
The European Union Council gave its final approval to the European Border and Coast Guard on September 14 and the EU now estimates the body will start its activities in mid-October. The main role of the European Border and Coast Guard is to help provide integrated border management at the external b
Anti-submarine drill in Arabian Sea gathers navies
In late August, the US Navy staged an anti-submarine warfare drill in the Arabian Sea which was joined by British, French and Australian Navy assets. Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Perth joined USS Nitze and USS Mason which also had MH-60R flights embarked. Also involved were the Los Angeles cla
Royal Navy tests MAST unmanned surface vessel on the Thames
The Royal Navy has put the Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST), an unmanned surface vessel (USV) based on the Bladerunner hull shape, on sea trials in the Tidal Thames, September 5. MAST is being developed by Portchester-based ASV Ltd, under research funding from the Defence Science and Technol
BAE Systems told to refine Type 26 design for new Australian frigates
The Australian government has awarded BAE Systems a contract to further refine its design of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) for the Royal Australian Navy under the SEA 5000 (Future Frigate) program. BAE Systems said that a team of the company’s Australian engineers would be deployed to the UK