Italian Navy frigate ITS Espero is en route to her homeport after over two months of counter-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa as part of the EUNAVFOR operation Atalanta. During her 108-day deployment ITS Espero’s ship’s company helped deter and suppress pirate attacks which started again in 201
HMS Montrose, the latest Royal Navy frigate to complete her modernization in Devonport, set sail on July 7 for the first time in almost three years. The Type 23 frigate began her refit in 2014 and the opportunity was seized to fit her with the newly developed Sea Ceptor missile system. Sea Ceptor an
U.S.-based boat builder Metal Shark has entered a partnership with Dutch shipbuilder Damen for the construction of up to 13 near coastal patrol vessels (NCPV) for South American countries. Metal Shark was contracted by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in June this year to build the boats for Domin
Defense forces from 17 countries are attending the multinational Black Sea exercise Sea Breeze which is taking place from July 10 to 22, in Ukraine. The exercise is co-hosted by the U.S. and Ukraine and will involve air, land, sea, and amphibious forces. The annual recurring multinational exercise i
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has contracted Saab for work on the modification and upgrades of the Swedish Navy’s two Gävle-class corvettes. The BSEK 1.249 (approx. US$148 million) contract will see Saab perform life extension services on HMS Gävle and HMS Sundsvall. Swedish ship
NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2017 concluded in the North Atlantic Ocean on July 6. Led by NATO’s Allied Maritime Command, the exercise gathered units from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Th
More than 128,000 tonnes of water has been pumped out from one of Portsmouth Naval Base’s dry docks to make way for Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans. The ship is undergoing essential repair works following her nine-month deployment – the process of which is made easier by removing all the water surroun
Russian Navy’s advanced Project 20380 corvette, the Sovershenny, has taken the Ka-27 helicopter aboard during the recent official tests, according to TASS. The Ka-27 antisubmarine search and rescue helicopter landed over 20 times on the corvette during the day and night while the corvette was in mot
A Merlin helicopter has landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s enormous flight deck – the first aircraft to ever touch down on Britain’s biggest warship. It fell to 26-year-old pilot Lieutenant Luke Wraith from Yorkshire to set the 14-tonne helicopter safely down on the aircraft carrier, just days after sh
The first of the Royal Navy’s next-generation frigates will be laid down before the month is out after a £3.7 billion order was placed for three Type 26s. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon yesterday announced the contract with BAE Systems to deliver the first batch of global combat ships. They wi
Norwegian shipbuilder Bergen Group Services announced it has received a one-year contract extension for the service of Royal Norwegian Navy vessels, less than a month after losing a NOK 700 million (approx. $83 million) contract for the upkeep of Nansen-class frigates. On June 22, Norwegian Armed Fo
The Royal Navy is sending two warships to NATO missions in the Mediterranean Sea, UK’s defense secretary Michael Fallon confirmed at the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Multi-role survey ship HMS Enterprise is already underway and is set to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter
U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) on June 16 became the U.S. Navy ship to complete a 60-day Surface Incremental Availability (SIA) at the Rota naval base in Spain. Porter serves as one of the navy’s four forward deployed guided-missile destroyers home-ported in Rota, Spain t
NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) will be led by a Latvian Navy commander following a change of command ceremony at the Port of Riga on Thursday. Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa of the Estonian Navy turned over command of the group after leading aboard the flagship, Estonian c
