Surface Vessels
Babcock announced as Royal Navy Type 31 frigate competition winner
The Royal Navy has picked Babcock’s Arrowhead 140 proposal as the preferred design for its Type 31 frigates. As confirmed by Babcock, the fleet of five ships will be built at an average production cost of £250 million per ship. The announcement of the preferred design also means that the Royal Navy’
SEA, iXblue unveil autonomous anti-submarine surveillance system
Defense technology company SEA and navigation systems provider iXblue have joined forces to develop an autonomous anti-submarine surveillance system at the DSEI conference in London. SeaDrix, as the system is named, is intended for long endurance surveillance patrols and can be deployed as a standal
Royal Navy frigate facilitates autonomous systems trials
Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll has lent its capabilities to a BAE Systems team trying out their unmanned Pacific 24 sea boat in trials at London’s Docklands. The trials are part of the Royal Navy’s NavyX autonomous hardware accelerator program and will take place over the course of this week. Type 23
NATO ships visit New York ahead of ASW drill off Canada
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG1) wrapped up a four-day visit to New York on September 3 after previously completing their first series of training events since arriving in the US. The ships are now headed for Halifax, Canada, where they will be part of a 22-ship strong anti-subm
UK readies berth for arrival of second aircraft carrier
The Royal Navy base HMNB Portsmouth will soon be ready to welcome the second of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers as the work on the base’s second berth is in the final stages. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is working with its contractor Volker Stevin to deliver infrastruct
German air-defense frigate Hamburg deploying to NATO’s SNMG2
German Navy Sachsen-class frigate FGS Hamburg is scheduled to depart her Wilhelmsaven homeport on September 6 to join NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). Hamburg will set sail for the Aegean Sea where the international group is most active. The air-defense frigate and her crew will spend the n
Pakistan Navy’s second OPV launched in Romania
Dutch shipbuilder Damen has launched the second of two Pakistan Navy offshore patrol vessels at its shipyard in Galati, Romania. The two OPVs, referred to as corvettes by the Pakistan Navy, are being built under a contract from June 2017. The lead ship in the class was launched in May 2019 and is ex
France pinpoints three La Fayette frigates for mid-life upgrades
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
HMS Queen Elizabeth departs for final phase of trials with UK F-35B fighter jets
The trials, known as Westlant, will take place off the US East Coast.
40-ship maneuver Northern Coasts starting in Denmark
The two-week exercise will take place in Denmark and Germany.
NATO group wraps up deployment’s first drills in US waters
Maritime Express will also see cooperation between military vessels and the commercial shipping community.
Royal Navy frigate deploys for major anti-submarine warfare drill off Canada
After the drill, the frigate will join HMS Queen Elizabeth on her F-35B trials.
Spanish minesweeper runs aground during search for crashed C-101 aircraft
Spanish Navy minesweeper ESPS Turia has stranded on a beach in southeastern Spain while supporting search and rescue operations for the crashed Spanish Air Force C-101 aircraft. Air Force Commander Francisco Marín Núñez died in the aircraft crash on August 26 while the minesweeper ran aground in the
Royal Navy destroyer heading to Hormuz instead of Asia-Pacific
After deploying from Portsmouth for operations in the Asia Pacific earlier this month, Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender has now been ordered to Persian Gulf where it would aid in the protection of shipping in the Middle East. Following a series of attacks on tankers in the region and Iran’s