Shipbuilding
UK starts construction of new maritime patrol aircraft hub
The UK defense secretary cut the first turf on April 19 for a new facility at RAF Lossiemouth which will house the UK’s new fleet of Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The £132m site will be the future home to the country’s nine-strong, new P-8A Poseidon MPA fleet. The aircraft’s key role will
HMS Forth enters service
HMS Forth, the first of Royal Navy’s five new Batch-2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, entered service in a ceremony held at her Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, on April 13. At the ceremony, the ship’s Lady Sponsor, Rachel Johnstone-Burt, was joined by UK government and defense officials, a
BAE Systems investing in AI, electronic warfare research
UK defense contractor BAE Systems has announced a £10 million (approx. $14.2m) investment into upgrades of the Maritime Integration & Support Centre (MISC) aimed at improving research into artificial intelligence, information and electronic warfare, unmanned vehicles and new weapons. Located in Port
Royal Navy decommissions HMS Ocean
Royal Navy’s former fleet flagship and helicopter carrier HMS Ocean was decommissioned on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by Her Majesty The Queen at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. Queen Elizabeth, who is the ship’s lady sponsor, inspected the sailors and was later transported on an aircraft l
Qinetiq unveils design of new Portsdown Technology Park facility
Construction of a new naval testing facility at the Portsdown Technology Park (PTP) in Portsmouth, UK, is set to begin soon, UK defense technology company Qinetiq announced as it unveiled the facility’s design. Together with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Qinetiq is investing £23m in
UK MoD awards £160m Type 45 destroyer propulsion repair contract
The UK defense ministry has awarded a £160 million (approx. $226.5m) contract to a BAE Systems-led team to resolve the power and propulsion system issues experienced by Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers. The Power Improvement Project (PIP) will improve the resilience of the Type 45 class by installing
RFA Mounts Bay helping Turks and Caicos Islands tackle surge of migrant arrivals
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay arrived in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) waters on March 19 to help the the British overseas territory with a recent increase in the number of migrant arrivals from Haiti. TCI police and border control officials observed a surge in the number of illegal sloops
Damen wants to build German MKS180 ships in Hamburg
The Netherlands-based shipbuilding group Damen Shipyards is ready to build Germany’s new MKS180 frigates at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, the company has told German parliament members. This is according to a letter seen by German news agency Welt in which Damen, together with its bidding part
Third River-class OPV officially named
Trent, the third of five River-class offshore patrol vessels (OPV) being built for the Royal Navy, has been named. The naming ceremony took place in Govan, Glasgow on March 13, BAE Systems Maritime informed. Trent is now set to take to the water for the first time and make the short journey across t
Contract for seventh Astute submarine in the works, UK MoD confirms
UK’s defense procurement minister Guto Bebb on March 6 informed MPs that the UK defense ministry received the treasury approval to award a construction contract for the Royal Navy’s seventh Astute-class submarine. Negotiations are still ongoing, it was noted, and the new contingent liabilities assoc
HMS Cardiff returns to Royal Navy fleet as a Type 26 frigate
The Royal Navy’s next Type 26 frigate will be named HMS Cardiff, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones has announced. HMS Cardiff is joining HMS Glasgow and HMS Belfast as the final ship in the first batch of three frigates to be built under a contract from 2017. Cardiff was named on St David’s Da
Plasan to provide armoring for UK Type 26 frigates
Israel-based ballistic protection company Plasan will be delivering armoring solutions for the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates, the company announced on Thursday. Plasan received the armoring contract from BAE Systems, the main contractor for the Type 26 program. The frigates are to be built at BA
First River-class OPV HMS Forth arrives home
The Royal Navy’s first Batch-2 River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth arrived in her new homeport at Portsmouth Naval Base on February 26. She is the first of five vessels in the class, designed for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, fishery protection, border patrol, counter terrorism and mariti
Royal Navy frigate stops in Adelaide on Australia tour
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland stopped in Adelaide on February 23, for a visit as part of her tour of Australia tour. Sutherland is on a seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific to strengthen defense ties, as well as promote stability and security through combined naval operations and