The UK government is setting aside £30 milion for the development of a laser weapon prototype that is to be developed under the Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) capability demonstrator. After several months of preparations, the UK Ministry of Defense on Wednesday officially awarded the contract t
UK’s BMT Defence Services (BMT) joined forces with the University of Bristol to work on the development of an UAV that would be the first ever to perform a perched landing on a ship’s flight deck. The 18-month research project was delivered as part of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s
The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has contracted the maritime services company Ardent for emergency towage off the north and north-western coasts of Scotland. The new ship to be used – the Ievoli Black – is a 70 metre towing vessel of some 2283 gross tonnes and a bollard pull of 139 tonnes
Dutch system integrator Alewijnse Marine said it has opened a new service and maintenance facility in the port of Den Helder to support its activities at the Dutch Royal Naval dockyard and Damen Shipyards Den Helder. The company said this new facility will allow it to deliver its expertise in all ty
Bahrain was the stage for the 39th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference which was held November 30. The conference was a forum to discuss counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean and the importance of cooperation between naval units in the region, industry and othe
Spanish company Indra has partnered with the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) to jointly develop and integrate the sensors for Spanish Navy’s future F110 frigate. The partnership agreement has been reached within the industrial plan for the PROTEC F110 program, through which Indra will boost c
The Royal Navy was forced to fire warning flares at a Spanish research vessel that strayed into the Territorial waters of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Sailors aboard the fast patrol boat HMS Sabre resorted to firing the flares after several attempts to establish communication with th
Three Dutch warships sunk off the coast of Indonesia in 1942 have disappeared from the seabed of the Java Sea, Dutch defense ministry has noted. The ministry said the cause of the disappearance was unknown. The wrecks of Hr. Ms. De Ruyter and Hr. Ms. Java seem to be completely gone while Hr. Ms. Kor
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has officially started a new central Mediterranean Sea operation called Sea Guardian wherein three ships and two submarines are already conducting their first patrols. The operation started November 9 and will run through November 17 in its initial phase. Furth
Belgian Navy research ship R/V Belgica is scheduled to get a successor by 2020, the Belgium government announced on October 28. The 32-year-old ship has reached an end of its service life and needs a replacement, secretary of state for science Elke Sleurs said. RV Belgica is owned by the Belgian Sci
The Royal Navy-hosted review of unmanned technologies which took place on the West Coast of Scotland concluded on October 20. The skies above the island of Benbecula, a remote Scottish outpost in the Outer Hebrides, have been clear and calm in October allowing several dozens of the world’s experts t
Royal Navy’s unmanned and autonomous systems display exercise Unmanned Warrior 2016 has gotten underway as the teams headed north to Scotland for six weeks of exercises. Over 50 unmanned vehicles from more than 40 suppliers, major international companies and smaller bespoke contractors, academic ins
The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) will head a U.S. Navy contingent demonstrating 10 technology projects during the first-ever Unmanned Warrior joint exercise hosted by the British Royal Navy. Unmanned Warrior is part of a larger, British naval exercise called Joint Warrior, which provides a se
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is preparing a £30M contract which will see a number of companies join together to develop a Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) capability demonstrator that will give the government an insight into laser weapon possibilities. Led by the missile producer MBDA, the in
