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
As part of her counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Italian warship, ITS Espero, has an Agusta-Bell AB 212 helicopter embarked. This highly capable helicopter provides the commanding officer with much-needed versatility, speed and range, as well as an intelligence-gathering c
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
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 [
