A Royal Navy frigate on fleet escort duty followed a Russian frigate as it passed through the North Sea and areas of UK interest on Christmas Day. HMS St Albans, a Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, was called upon to sail on December 23 and keep watch on the new Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov as i
The Royal Navy will have a total of 13 vessels and one of its four Vanguard-class submarines on deployment overseas and in home waters over the holiday season, according to the Royal Navy. What is missing from the list of deployed assets are any major warships as no frigates or destroyers are curren
The German defense procurement agency BAAINBw has reportedly returned FGS Baden-Württemberg, the lead ship of German Navy’s new class of F125 frigates, to the Blohm+Voss shipyard. According to a report in the German Kieler Nachrichten, BAAINBw has requested Blohm+Voss – which is part of the ARGE F12
UK Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been floated and moved to her fitting-out berth at Rosyth, the navy informed. In an overnight operation, sluices were opened and water gradually filled the dry dock, specially enlarged for the 65,000-tonne warship and her older sister HMS
Swedish defense major Saab announced it has acquired combat boat producer N. Sundin Dockstavarvet AB and the repair shipyard Muskövarvet AB, strengthening its presence in the naval sector. Saab said the acquisition of the companies would become effective on December 29, 2017. Dockstavarvet, based ou
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll recently carried out a test firing of the Sea Ceptor missile to verify the weapon system upgrade. The first firings of Sea Ceptor were conducted from HMS Argyll at the Hebrides range off the coast of Scotland and involved firing the system to assess its perfor
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean returned home to naval base Devonport on December 19, concluding her final deployment as a commissioned Royal Navy ship. The ship was scheduled to enter Devonport on December 20, welcomed by families and friends, but a forecast of thick fog brought her final o
Finland’s defense minister on December 19 authorized the country’s defense forces’ logistics command to sign contracts for the upgrade of Hamina-class fast attack missile craft (FAC). The authorization follows the signing of a letter of intent and a pre-design activities contract with Patria Aviatio
The Italian Navy has taken over command of the operation Sophia task force from the Spanish Navy in a ceremony at Italian naval base Taranto. On the occasion, Italian Navy Rear Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto replaced Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Javier Moreno as the new deputy force commander. Durin
The Russian state-owned shipyard More has laid the keel for the overall seventh Russian Navy Karakurt-class Project 22800 corvette in a ceremony on December 19 in Feodosia, Crimea. The ship will be named Vikhr and is the third in the class to be built at the More shipyard. The other two ships in the
The recently-commissioned Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is taking on water due to a propeller shaft leak, the Royal Navy has confirmed. A Royal Navy spokesman said the issue with a shaft seal has been identified during the carrier’s sea trials earlier this year. The Royal Navy said
The fourteenth and final F-35B Lightning II to be delivered to UK this year rolled off the production line and flew into Beaufort, South Carolina, to join the Lightning Fleet which will be operated jointly by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The F-35 Lightning jets will be able to operate on land
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Fasan has returned home from a five-deployment to the EUNAVFOR counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Fasan and her 133 crew departed the mission earlier this month and entered their homeport in La Spezia on December 18. During her time off the coast of Somalia, the
Dutch steel-construction manufacturer Ravestein has delivered a new caisson to the UK Royal Navy for installation at Portsmouth Naval Base. With the new caisson in place, the naval base has reopened the former “14” dry dock for the first time since 2002. Reopening this dock takes the base capability
