Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Tamar has welcomed the first members of her ship’s company. Four Royal Navy personnel joined teams from BAE, DE&S and MCTA for contractor sea trials in the Firth of Clyde. Tamar is the fourth Batch 2 River Class OPV to be built in Scotstoun, Glasgow, and has the
kta naval systems, a joint venture of Germany’s thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Norway’s Kongsberg, has unveiled a new combat system for non-nuclear submarines at the 7th International Submarine Conference SubCon in Kiel. The combat system is called ORCCA and was developed as part of a joint drive b
The French defense ministry has pinpointed three Marine Nationale La Fayette-class frigates (FLF) that will be receiving mid-life upgrades. From 2021, the lead ship FS La Fayette, along with third and fourth ships in the class, FS Courbet and FS Aconit, will benefit from an upgraded ships’ platform
Italian Navy special forces – the Operational Raiders Group (Gruppo Operativo Incursori) – received the first of two high-speed multi-purpose vessels from Intermarine on July 8. Angelo Cabrini was delivered a little over a year after it was launched and will support missions of GOI, which is part of
The UK Ministry of Defence has signed an £85 million contract with engineering company Rolls-Royce to maintain the engines of the Royal Navy’s Type-23 frigate fleet. The contract includes a comprehensive support package to Spey gas turbines, including the overhaul of engines, provision of spares, as
HSwMS Uppland, the second of two Royal Swedish Navy Gotland-class submarines, was launched at Saab’s Karlskrona shipyard on June 19. The relaunch of the second air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine took place almost exactly 12 months after the first unit was relaunched as part of the upgrade. T
FGS Baden-Württemberg, the lead ship of the German Navy’s new F125 class frigates, officially entered service in a ceremony on June 17. The 149,6-meter ship was commissioned in attendance of German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen, who arrived in Wilhelmshaven just hours after unveiling the nex
Paolo Thaon di Revel, the first unit in a new class of Italian Navy multipurpose offshore patrol ships (abbreviated to PPA in Italian), was launched on Saturday, June 15. The launching ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, in the presence of Italian defense minister E
The UK defense ministry has approved an engine order for the second batch of Royal Navy Type 26 frigates, securing the immediate future of the General Electric’s Rugby site. The contract is important because GE had previously announced the site’s closure with its work being moved to Nancy in France
The Irish Navy commissioned its fourth and final P60 class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) LÉ George Bernard Shaw in a ceremony in Waterport on April 30. The vessel was commissioned after being floated out at Babcock’s shipyard in Appledore, North Devon, in April 2018. Babcock built the four OPVs under
The US Navy and the UK defense ministry have tested an energy storage system capable of providing high-power electrical pulses for future systems under an agreement called Advanced Electric Power and Propulsion Project Arrangement (AEP3). UK’s Defence Equipment & Support office and Dstl joined force
The Netherlands’ Defense Material Organization (DMO) procurement agency has awarded Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Den Helder (DSDH) a contract to design, build and deliver a prototype expeditionary survey boat (ESB) for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ESB is to be optimized for rapid environment
Construction on the fourth Italian Navy Multipurpose Patrol Ship (PPA) kicked off with a steel-cutting ceremony at Fincantieri’s Riva Trigoso Shipyard in Genoa on March 14. While being the fourth in its class, this ship will be the first in the “full” configuration, meaning it will be equipped with
The French Navy’s sixth FREMM frigate Normandie returned from her first sea trials in late February, achieving the milestone a year after being launched at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard. The anti-submarine warfare configured frigate tested propulsion and navigation system during the first underway
