Italian Navy submarine Scirè (S527) collided with a merchant vessel in the evening of May 10, the navy said in a statement. According to the navy, no one was injured and the merchant vessel was able to proceed under its own propulsion. The Type 212 submarine was returning from exercises, transiting
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri laid the keel for the Italian Navy’s first Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Ship (PPA) on May 9. The ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia. According to Fincantieri, the first of seven offshore patrol ships will be delivered in 2021. The PPA
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded DCNS a contract to renovate three of the five La Fayette-class frigates (FLF) currently in service with the French Navy. The renovation work, which will start in 2020, will be performed in Toulon and synchronised with the scheduled overhauls of
HMS Audacious, the fourth of overall seven Astute-class nuclear-powered submarines the Royal Navy will operate, was launched on April 28, at BAE Systems’ Devonshire Dock Hall, in Scotland. The naming ceremony of the 7,400 tonne, 97-metre long submarine took place in December last year, one year afte
HNLMS Karel Doorman, the largest ship in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy, has taken to sea again after receiving a new engine during a reparation that lasted for almost a year. The amphibious, multi-function support ship returned to the Den Helder base in April last year with a broken engine
German Navy tanker ‘Spessart’ had to be towed home from UK waters after experiencing problems with its engine during the Joint Warrior drill off Scotland. The 40-year-old ship broke down on March 27 and the extent of damage is yet to be determined, German Kieler Nachrichten reported. Spessart withdr
UK defense contractor Babcock has been selected to become marine systems support partner (MSSP) for the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers. The company said it was selected as preferred bidder for all four elements of a Ministry of Defence program t
Norway’s plans to replace its ageing fleet of P-3 Orion and DA-20 Jet Falcon maritime patrol aircraft became official on Wednesday with the signing of a contract for the acquisition of the Boeing built P-8A. The contract for five aircraft was signed by the Norwegian defense equipment agency, on beha
A new flight simulator for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft is now ready to help prepare pilots to take the real aircraft on flight trials on the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth next year. The simulator will test pilots’ skills to the limits as they practise landing on the deck
The first of four Egyptian Navy’s Gowind 2500 corvettes, ENS El-Fateh, started its sea trials on March 13, French shipbuilder DCNS announced. DCNS also released a video showing the corvette leaving the shipyard in Lorient to start its trials. According to French news site Mer et Marine, the vessel w
Royal Navy’s amphibious warship HMS Albion left the dockyard at HMNB Devonport and moved to a tidal berth where she will now undergo final preparations before heading out to sea. Repositioning HMS Albion onto her new tidal berth marks a significant milestone in her regeneration schedule. Since 2011,
When Europe’s tallest active volcano erupted on Thursday, March 16, a pair of Royal Navy helicopters, searching for submarines during a NATO exercise, managed to capture the moment on their infrared cameras. After their successful mission to find and hypothetically destroy a Spanish submarine, which
German Navy’s anti-submarine warfare Type F123 frigate FGS Brandenburg is set to deploy to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) to relieve another German frigate, the Type F124 FGS Sachsen, as flagship of the task force. The lead ship in the class of four German Navy F123 frigates, FGS Brandenbu
A Royal Navy Sea Harrier short take-off and vertical landing jet fighter made one last flight in preparation for its final mission. While it did not fly under its own power, it was still quite a sight seeing the aircraft slung beneath an RAF Chinook. A specialist team of RAF and RN engineers, plus t
