Ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) completed four days of historical ordnance disposal (HOD) operations along with Estonian minehunter ENS Admiral Cowan in Estonian territorial waters on August 17. The ships searched Estonian coastal areas that had not been previousl
UK’s Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE) project is entering phase four after defense contractor Qinetiq signed a £4.5m contract to lead this phase of development. The project is being developed for the defense ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and focuses on
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F-105) returned home to Naval Base Ferrol, Spain, on August 10 after spending three month in Australia where the ship’s crew helped prepare Australian sailors to operate the Aegis combat system. Just the like the future HMAS Hobart, the first of three new a
The French Navy’s La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf returned to her homeport at Toulon naval base on August 10 completing a three-month counter-piracy deployment. Surcouf spent over 120 days with the Combined Maritime Forces’ CTF 150 patrolling the Indian Ocean intercepting traffickers between the
Atlas Elektronik is to deliver up to 38 workboats for the Royal Navy under a £48 million contract announced by UK defense minister Harriett Baldwin on Wednesday. The new fleet will assist Royal Navy ships from UK bases and on operations all over the world. The tasks to be carried out by the boats wi
The Spanish defense ministry has received the fourth upgraded Agusta Bell 212 (AB212) helicopter delivered by the joint venture made up of SENER and Babcock. The aircraft is the fourth of overall seven helicopters that are to be upgraded under a project that will extend their lifespan by another 15
A €5 billion deal between Italy and Qatar for the construction of seven navy vessels is now official following an announcement made by Qatar’s foreign minister on Wednesday. “I am pleased to announce the conclusion of a deal between the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces to buy seven naval units from Italy i
The UK defence ministry’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) office signed a seven-year contract with Babcock International Group to keep Royal Navy ships supplied with items essential for day-to-day maintenance and operations. The contract, announced by defence minister Harriett Baldwin in Portsm
French shipbuilder Naval Group (former DCNS) has appointed a new executive director to work with the Commonwealth of Australia on the Australian Future Submarine program. Jean-Michel Billig, the Australia executive director joined Naval Group in May 2017 as special advisor to Hervé Guillou, Presiden
Responding to the possibility of new UK aircraft carriers operating in the South China Sea, China’s foreign ministry said the deployment would only “stir up trouble”. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang made these remarks after UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson hinted at the possibility of t
A visit by Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan to the Ukrainian port of Odessa on July 24 marked the first UK warship visit to Ukraine in eight years. The Portsmouth-based destroyer led a NATO task group into the Ukrainian port at the start of a three-day visit ahead of exercises with the host nation’s
The Italian Navy’s seventh FREMM frigate Federico Martinengo took to the sea for the first time in the Gulf of La Spezia earlier this month. During the first sea going several systems installed onboard have been set up and tested successfully. Some of them are newly developed equipment such as the n
Tods Defence, a Unitech Aerospace Company, announced it has been selected by prime contractor BAE Systems to design and manufacture bow sonar domes for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates. The company announced this contract after a steel-cutting ceremony on Thursday which marked the construction star
Defense contractor Thales Germany has contracted Australian company Ferra Engineering for sub-assemblies for Phoenice, a Thales tactical navigation radar system for submarines. “Ferra’s success recognises a significant shift from automotive parts in 2002 to the innovative advanced manufacturing comp
