BAE Systems, the UK-based shipbuilder, was awarded a £13.5m ($20.4m) contract for 60 new Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boats. The announcement was made by the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Michael Fallon during his visit to Portsmouth Naval Base on December 14. This Pacific 24 Mark-4
HMS Artful, the third of overall seven submarines the United Kingdom is building, has joined the Royal Navy fleet. Until now the submarine was owned by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the MOD’s body responsible for procuring and supporting equipment for the armed forces. Defence Minister Phili
The aft island, the final section of the UK’s second aircraft carrier took to the sea yesterday, December 10. The control tower of the ship is being transferred to Babcock’s dockyard in Rosyth, Scotland. The 750-tonne section, which will control aircraft operations on HMS Prince of Wales, left BAE S
UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon visited defence companies in Scotland December 7 to highlight the impact last month’s Strategic Defence and Security Review will have on the economy. Over the next decade, the MOD plans to spend around £8 billion on conventional warships for the Royal Navy, all
UK’s new defence plan envisions the commissioning of new Type 26 Global Combat Ships from the mid-2020s, upgraded maritime helicopters and the new aircraft carrier in operating capability by 2020. This plan is backed with a £178 B budget which represents a £12 B increase on previous plans. The Natio
The UK Ministry of Defence awarded Bae Systems a £1.3 billion contract to build the fifth Astute-class submarine for the Royal Navy on November 19. The full contract covers the design and remaining build, test and commissioning activities on Anson, the fifth of seven technologically-advanced submari
BAE Systems, a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company, in an update on its business announced a “further headcount reductions” at its Australian shipyard. Despite Australia’s intention to launch a naval shipbuilding strategy, BAE Systems said that “it is unclear whether this i
UK’s Portsmouth-based minehunter, HMS Cattistock returns to service after a major life-extension upgrade. The re-dedication ceremony marking this occasion took place in Portsmouth Naval Base yesterday, Nov. 2. The upgrade, carried out by BAE Systems in Portsmouth, includes new engines and means that
The UK Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, affirmed the Government’s commitment to the Successor submarine programme at a reception in the House of Commons yesterday, Oct 21. Speaking at the House of Commons, Fallon announced that the government is committed to building four Successor ballistic missi
BAE Systems demonstrated new unmanned technology, in partnership with ASV, for the first time at a site near Portsmouth Naval Base. The new system will allow crews to carry out vital tasks such as high speed reconnaissance and remote surveillance while keeping sailors out of harm’s way. The modified
Servowatch has completed BAE System’s Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) of the fully integrated platform management system it has built for the Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessels. Servowatch is a supplier of advanced integrated ship control systems and will now integrate the IPMS package at BAE Syste
The new-look, souped-up HMS Diamond makes her way to sea for the first time since the summer of 2014. Some 15 months of work by BAE Systems have gone into the third of the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers in Portsmouth Naval Base to get the ship ready for her third operational deployment. Since retur
The waters lap the hull of Britain’s ‘capital ship’ for the first time in 11 months as HMS Westminster passes a milestone in a major overhaul. Since November last year, the frigate has been sitting on blocks in the recently-refurbished No.15 dock in Portsmouth Naval Base while engineers from BAE Sys
A cutting-edge 3D radar system, capable of detecting objects as small as a tennis ball and travelling at three times the speed of sound more than 25km away, has been successfully installed to the Royal Navy’s future aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. Known as Artisan 3D the radar system will be
