The French Navy commissioned its second Loire-class offshore support and assistance multipurpose vessel – BSAH Rhone – in a ceremony on July 6. Rhone entered service after being launched by the Kership joint venture in Concarneau, north-western France, in November 2017, and completing all trials off
The Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard marked the official construction-start of the Russian Navy’s sixth Project 12700 minesweeper with a keel-laying ceremony at its St. Petersburg shipyard on July 25. The monolithic-fiberglass vessel is named ‘Peter Ilyichev’ and is expected to be handed over to the navy by N
French shipbuilder Naval Group has delivered the fifth FREMM multi-mission frigate, FS Bretagne, to the French Navy. Bretagne was handed over to the French Government Defense procurement and technology agency (DGA) on July 18, nine months after it concluded its first trials. The anti-submarine warfa
The US Navy has awarded Saab a second contract for the delivery of its Sea Giraffe AMB multi mode radar (MMR) for the US Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutters (OPC). Saab received the initial order worth $16.8 million for the MMR for the OPCs in October 2017. Options for further deliveries could bri
Spanish Navy’s Galicia-class landing platform dock ESPS Castilla got underway from her homeport at Rota Naval Base on July 19 to join the counter-piracy operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa. ESPS Castilla will operate two SH-60 helicopters from the 10th aircraft squadron during the deployment a
The UK defense ministry’s project of acquiring “low-cost” Type 31 frigates has been brought to a halt due to what the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) office described as a lack of “compliant bids”. The process is now being streamlined, according to a IHS Jane’s report, and will be restarted in
The US Coast Guard has issued a request for information (RFI) for a service life extension project (SLEP) for heavy icebreaker ‘Polar Star’. The service life extension project (SLEP) is being undertaken as part of the In-Service Vessel Sustainment Program (ISVS) and will extend the service life of t
The US Navy’s expeditionary fast transport USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) got underway from Virginia to join Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2018 – an annual series of US Navy deployments focused on exchanges with regional partner nation militaries and security forces. Spearhead will conduct subject ma
The US Coast Guard is set to commission its newest fast response cutter, the Nathan Bruckenthal, in a ceremony on July 25. The commissioning ceremony at Alexandria City Pier, will be attended by Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Karl Schultz, and the crew of the coast guard’s 28th fast response cutter. T
Mistral-class amphibious assault ship Dixmude and La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf wrapped up the French Navy’s annual Jeanne D’Arc mission returning to naval base Toulon on July 19. The two ships got underway in late February and sailed a total of 26,500 nautical miles over a period of 145 days.
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS St. John’s returned to her homeport in Halifax on July 23 after spending six months deployed to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). Joining SNMG1 on January 18, 2018, the frigate contributed to NATO operations as part of the Canadian operation Reassurance. Duri
US Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and ships from its carrier strike group returned to Yokosuka, Japan, on July 24, after three months of operations. During the three months, Ronald Reagan was joined by Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam (CG 54
Three teams of bidders have submitted their final proposals for the construction of a fleet of new frigates for the Royal Canadian Navy under the Canadian Surface Combatant Program. The companies received feedback to revise their proposals in May and the deadline for the final bids to be submitted w
Ships of the US Navy’s Harry S. Truman carrier strike group (HSTCSG) returned to Naval Station (NS) Norfolk on July 21 after a shortened three-month deployment. Some 6,500 sailors from aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and strike group ships USS Normandy (CG 60), USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 5
