Surface Vessels
Romania suspends EUR 1.6b corvette tender
The Romanian defense ministry on January 11 announced it is suspending the tender for the procurement of four new multi-role corvettes and upgrades of two frigates currently in service with the Romanian Navy. As explained by the ministry, the procedure was put on hold until irregularities discovered
US destroyer Donald Cook resumes European patrol
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) departed Naval Station Rota, Spain resuming it’s eighth forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations, January 12. Donald Cook was in Naval Station Rota for a training and maintenance
Royal Navy sending another ship on Asia-Pacific deployment
The Royal Navy will deploy Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose to Japan later this year, where the ship will contribute to the enforcement of UN sanctions on North Korea. Montrose will be the fourth British warship to visit Japan and operate in the region in the past 12 months. Fellow Plymouth-based frigat
Germany starting construction of first new K130 corvette next month
A consortium of three German shipbuilders is scheduled to officially begin works on the first of five new K130 corvettes in February this year, the German Navy chief has announced. Speaking in Dobbin-Linstow on January 10, Vice Admiral Andreas Krause said the steel-cutting ceremony for the future FG
Babcock gets £5m deal for first-ever HMS Queen Elizabeth dry-dock maintenance
The UK defense ministry announced it has awarded Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard a £5 million contract for the first planned dry-dock maintenance of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. As announced by defense minister Stuart Andrew, the contract will allow the 65,000-tonne carrier to unde
Russia developing improved, longer-range Kalibr cruise missile
Russian Navy ships and submarines are poised to be equipped with a new and improved Kalibr cruise missile that is currently under development, according to a Tass report. The upgraded missile will have a range of over 4,500 km, twice that of the current 3M-54 Kalibr cruise missile (NATO codename SS-
USS Fort McHenry arrives in Romania on first Black Sea visit
US Navy amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) arrived in Constanta, Romania, on January 7 for the first scheduled port visit of its Black Sea tour. The Whidbey Island-class ship stopped in Romania after becoming the first US Navy ship to enter Black Sea since the Kerch Strait incide
Indian Navy escorts its first WFP vessel in Somalian waters
An Indian Navy frigate reached a milestone recently as it became the first Indian warship to escort a vessel of UN’s World Food Program. INS Sunayna completed the escort for the first time since counter-piracy deployments began in 2008, following an escort request by EU NAVFOR. A WFP dhow was transp
BAE Systems signs Royal Navy aircraft carrier mission systems support contract
UK defense contractor BAE Systems announced it would be providing essential mission system support to the Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers as part of an updated integration services agreement. Through an addition to the Naval Combat Systems Integration Support Services (NCSIS
Dutch air-defense frigate HNLMS Evertsen becomes SNMG2 flagship
The Royal Netherlands Navy’s air defense and command frigate HNLMS Evertsen got underway from her homeport in Den Helder on January 5 to become the flagship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2). Evertsen will spend the next six months in the Mediterranean and Black Seas patrolling the region
USS Fort McHenry is the first US Navy ship to enter Black Sea since Kerch Strait incident
Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) entered the Black Sea on Sunday, becoming the first US Navy ship to do so since the Kerch Strait incident from November 2018 when Russia fired on, and seized, three Ukrainian Navy ships near the the Kerch Strait. USS Fort McHenry, with
Spain’s Aegis-equipped FFG(X) contender en route to US for deployment with USS Abraham Lincoln
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Méndez Núñez got underway from her Ferrol homeport on Thursday to start what will eventually be a year-long deployment with the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The Aegis-equipped Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate (also referred to as F100) will spend the next two
Royal Navy OPV deploys to Channel in response to migrant crossing uptick
The United Kingdom has deployed a Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel to the English Channel as part of the country’s response to the recent increase in migrant crossings. HMS Mersey will support Border Force and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in their efforts to patrol the stretch of water, keep
USS Porter arrives in Aksaz, Turkey for port visit, exercises
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrived in Aksaz, Turkey for a port visit on January 1. Following the port visit, the Arleigh Burke-class ship is scheduled to take part in a joint exercise with the Turkish Navy and Air Force in the Mediterranean Sea. Porter got underway from Spa