German defense contractor and sensor manufacturer Hensoldt is to acquire UK radar specialist Kelvin Hughes after owner ECI Partners agreed to sell its investment in the company. The announcement follows Hensoldt’s acquisition of EuroAvionics in May this year. Hensoldt is a new company, spun off from
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway have signed a statement of intent to outline principles of cooperation on the P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The statement was signed on the outlines of the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Norway and the UK ar
BAE Systems and Leonardo are teaming up for the development of new precision-guided munitions for advanced, large caliber weapon systems. The companies are expecting to offer new adaptations of Leonardo’s Vulcano — a family of gun-launched munitions that exceed the performance of currently available
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
A team of Royal Navy sailors aboard the minehunter HMS Bangor helped save the U.S. Navy more than $1 million by finding and recovering a previously lost sonar. The large sonar was lost during the latest Anglo-French-US exercise in the Gulf, Artemis Trident. Although the chief aim of the workout was
The crew of a Royal Navy helicopter rescued the last survivor of a tanker which sank in the Indian Ocean on June 26. The Wildcat helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth rescued the 13th survivor from tanker Rama 2 which sank 140 miles off the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Yemen. The [
Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was joined by two frigates as she embarked on her maiden sea trials. The frigates’ role is to secure the seas around the aircraft carrier as she conducts vital system tests off the coast of Scotland today. HMS Queen Elizabeth left Rosyth, where s
Royal Navy sailors have received life-size replicas of the F-35 Lightning II jets to help them train for operations on the new aircraft carriers. The replicas are being moved around the tarmac at RNAS Culdrose, in Cornwall, as flight deck teams learn the art of working with the world’s most advanced
French state-owned shipbuilder DCNS announced on Wednesday it was changing its name to Naval Group, for better “exposure and credibility in international markets”. “The creation of a strong, unifying brand, that embodies both our heritage and our expertise will enable us to meet two major objectives
The French-UK led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 seized nearly two tons of narcotics in the last two months during an operation called Southern Surge. The seizures included 1250 kg of heroin and 455 kg of hashish. Narcotics trafficking, particularly heroin, has long been associated with funding terro
Dynamic Mongoose 2017, a NATO-led submarine surveillance exercise, began on Tuesday off the coast of Iceland. Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 allied nations gathered in the North Atlantic Ocean for anti-submarine and anti-surface training. Submarines from France, Germany, the Nethe
FGS Rottweil, German Navy’s former Frankenthal-class minehunter which now serves as a diver support vessel, wrapped up her deployment to NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG 2) and is on her way home. Rottweil is expected to enter her homeport at navy base Kiel on June 30 after five
Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth put to sea on Monday for the first time to start sea trials off the coast of Scotland. In a delicate operation lasting nearly four hours, HMS Queen Elizabeth moved from the basin at Rosyth where she has been under construction since 2014, and into th
Future Royal Navy flagship and the largest warship ever built for the UK, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, is set to depart the Rosyth dockyard on Monday after eight years of construction. As the first of two ships in her class, HMS Queen Elizabeth is looking forward to two years of sea trials with the firs