Surface Vessels
French Navy Returns Gowind OPV L’Adroit to Her Homeport
Gowind® offshore patrol vessel L’Adroit returned to her homeport of Toulon on 29 June 2012 after a two-month mission in the Mediterranean. DCNS has made the ship available to the French Navy for three years. The client Navies, in turn, is using the ship primarily for government missions at sea. Duri
UK: Northrop Grumman Wins PMS Supply for HMS Anson
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to supply the Platform Management System (PMS) for the Royal Navy’s fifth Astute-class submarine, Anson. Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit will supply the PMS for Astute Boat 5 under a performance partnering arrangement (PPA) with BAE Syste
UK: Babcock Concludes Mk8 Mod1 Upgrade for MoD and Royal Navy
Babcock has successfully delivered a long term contract to upgrade the 4.5 inch Mk8 naval gun to Mod1 standard, with the completion June of the last gun system upgrade to programme and cost. Babcock undertook the first Mk8 Mod1 upgrade under the contract in 2005. The seven year programme has involve
Second Assembly Cycle of UK’s New Aircraft Carriers Underway
A further milestone has been reached in the assembly of the first of the UK’s new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers by Babcock at Rosyth, where the massive Super Block 03 (SB03) has been moved 90 metres north to meet Lower Block 02 (LB02) in a major hydraulic skidding operation, as part of Ass
Spain: Major Milestone in Construction of ADF’s Amphibious Ships
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced the launch of the second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) at the Navantia shipyard in Spain. The launch represented a major milestone in the shipbuilding process and was attended by the Chief of Navy, Vice
Admiral Stanhope Underlines Importance of Aircraft Carriers (UK)
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope gave a keynote speech yesterday to international naval leaders, historians and maritime experts, underlining the importance of the aircraft carrier to the future of the Navy – and the nation. Addressing the Future Maritime Operations Conference at the globall
UK: HMS Dragon Salutes P&O Cruise Fleet Amid Historic Sail Past
Brand-new £1bn destroyer HMS Dragon saluted the seven cruise ships of world’s famous P&O line last night as they gathered in the Solent to mark the firm’s 175th birthday. The seven liners – displacing more than half a million tonnes in total – conducted a sail past out of Southampton, with HMS Drago
HMS Diamond, FS Forbin Show What They Are Made Of
One of the Royal Navy’s newest warships HMS Diamond has been working with one of her French counterpart near-identical twin ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The Type 45 destroyer took part in a series of exercises with FS Forbin, a French Horizon Class destroyer which looks similar to the Royal Navy’
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Takes Part in Coalition Training in the Mediterranean
While conducting coalition training in the Mediterranean Sea July 2, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) received a call of a downed French aircraft operating from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R 91). Upon notification, a Carrier Airwing 7 airborne helicopter from Helicopter Anti-Subm
Gulf of Aden: Italian Frigate Scirocco Assists Tug Amid Engine Troubles
On the morning of June 28th 2012, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian Frigate Scirocco provided technical assistance to a tug type vessel which experienced an engine failure while sailing in international waters in the Gulf of Aden. In the evening on the 27th of June, ITS Scirocco was conducting a pa
France: FREMM Frigate Passes First Torpedo Launch Test with Flying Colors
Teams from DCNS, the French Navy and defence procurement agency DGA recently completed a new test campaign aboard first-of-class FREMM multimission frigate Aquitaine, the last and most important being the first ever torpedo launch test from a FREMM frigate. After demonstrating FREMM frigate Aquitain
Polish Navy Participates in Baltic Military Fair “BALT MILITARY EXPO”
Between 27-29 June the 12th Baltic Military Fair “BALT MILITARY EXPO” was held in Gdansk. Polish Navy has prepared a presentation of ships and maritime rescue. Transport-and-landing ship ORP “Lublin”, minehunter ORP “Flaming” and hydrographic ship ORP “Arctowski” were presented to the public in the
SNMG2 Prepares for Bulgarian Naval Exercise “BREEZE 2012”
The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is currently preparing for the Bulgarian naval exercise “BREEZE 2012”, an annual , national, naval exercise with international participation and directed by the Bulgarian Navy Command. The exercise involves naval units from the Bulgarian Navy, the Turkish N
EUNAVFOR Frigates Escort WFP Ship MV Tupi Maiden 3 (Gulf of Aden)
From the 18th to 21st June 2012, EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) frigates Guépratte and Reina Sofia collaborated with USS Taylor, engaged in TF 508 (NATO) to escort World Food Programme chartered ship MV Tupi Maiden 3. The escort of WFP ship started in Salalah (Oman) and was performed by EUNAVFOR French f