Vessels
Italian Navy receives fifth FREMM frigate Alpino
The Italian Navy has commissioned its fifth FREMM frigate Alpino during a ceremony held at Fincantieri’s Muggiano, La Spezia shipyard on September 30. FREMM frigates are built within the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). Ori
European navies to test amphibious capabilities during Emerald Move 2016
Navy ships and personnel from eight European countries are set to begin the second European amphibious exercise Emerald Move 2016 (ERMO) off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia on Monday, October 3. The ERMO 16 is an undertaking of the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI), an organization wh
Australia picks Lockheed Martin as combat system integrator for future submarines
Australian Minister for Defence Marise Payne announced September 30 that Lockheed Martin Australia has been selected as the preferred Combat System Integrator for Australia’s Future Submarine Program. Financial details of the contract are subject to further discussion, it was noted. According to the
USS Coronado heads for Singapore after repairs
U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) departed Hawaii for a 16-month rotational deployment to the 7th Fleet after spending a month in port for repairs on the ship’s propulsion plant. Coronado set sail for Singapore in August to replace the Freedom-variant LCS USS Fort Worth which was a
Joint Expeditionary Force departs Gibraltar for Mediterranean deployment
Royal Navy’s amphibious flagship HMS Bulwark joined RFA Mounts Bay and MV Eddystone in Gibraltar in what was the first port visit of the Royal Navy’s inaugural Joint Expeditionary Force Task Group deployment. The group departed the British overseas territory September 26 and will be joined, at vario
Unexploded WWII bomb found in Portsmouth harbor
An unexploded German 500kg bomb (WWII) was found on the seabed in Portsmouth Harbor on September 29, the Royal Navy has informed. Bomb disposal experts towed the device into open waters 1.5 miles east of the Isle of Wight during the night to dispose of it in a controlled explosion. The device was lo
HII gets potential $400M contract for US Navy submarine repairs
The U.S. Naval Sea System Command has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for repair works on in-service nuclear-powered submarines, special mission submersibles, moored training ships, and submarine support facilities. Specifically,
US Secretary of Defense visits USS Carl Vinson
U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) hosted Defense Secretary Ash Carter in its homeport of San Diego, September 29. During the visit, Carter delivered a speech on the flight deck about the future of the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and ongoing security challeng
QinetiQ bags 11-year contract extension for Royal Navy mission systems
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded QinetiQ an 11-year, £109 million contract extension to continue to develop and de-risk Royal Navy mission systems and infrastructure through integration and testing at Portsdown Technology Park, Portsmouth, UK. The renewal of the naval combat system integration
USS Helena to undergo maintenance, modernization
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $17.7 million contract to perform planning work in support of maintenance and modernization efforts on the submarine USS Helena (SSN 725). Planning efforts will include design studies, risk assessments, engineering,
S. Korea’s Posco Daewoo to build patrol boat, landing platform dock for Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy has signed a $1 billion contract with the South Korean Posco Daewoo Corp. for the delivery of two naval vessels and modernization of a shipyard. Under the contract, South Korea’s top steelmaker will build one patrol boat and one landing platform dock (LPD) for the South American state
French Navy’s fourth FREMM frigate starts sea trials
French shipbuilder DCNS has informed that the fourth French Navy FREMM frigate, FS Auvergne, started sea trials on September 26. Auvergne left the shipyard just days after DCNS launched the fifth of overall eight frigates the French Navy is to acquire. In its first out at sea, the new frigate will s
Drone launched from unmanned submersible at US Navy technology demo
U.S. Navy’s annual technology exercise (ANTX) saw an autonomous underwater vehicle launch an unmanned aerial vehicle, all while being commanded by an unmanned surface vehicle. Defense technology company Lockheed Martin demonstrated the integration capabilities of its products by having the Marlin MK
ASV Global gets MOD licence for MAST USV software use
The U.K. Ministry of Defence has given ASV Global a licence to use its Advanced Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Capability technology. The contract has been signed through Ploughshare Innovations, the technology transfer arm of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The licence is cent