Weapons Systems
German procurement office contracts Leonardo for K130 corvette Super Rapid deliveries
Germany’s defense procurement agency BAAINBw has awarded Italian defense technology company Leonardo a contract to provide seven OTO 76/62 Super Rapid gun systems for the navy’s five new K130 corvettes. Leonardo says the contract also includes training and spare parts supply. The company also delive
Power outage hits HMCS Toronto days after fire breaks out aboard sister ship
Halifax-class frigate HMCS Toronto experienced a power outage off the coast of the United Kingdom on Monday, the Royal Canadian Navy has confirmed. The frigate spent several hours adrift before the ship’s technicians were able to restore power, the navy said. The vessel returned to Belfast, Northern
Second large-scale naval drill in Baltic Sea kicks off
Over 40 vessels from NATO and ally countries gathered in Turku, Finland, to kick off a second major exercise in the Baltic Sea on October 25. The exercise is called Northern Coasts and is organized by Germany and hosted by a different Baltic Sea nation each year. It will run concurrent with Trident
Thales to upgrade Royal Navy Martlet missile as part of £90m contract
The UK defense ministry has awarded Thales UK a £93 million contract to upgrade the Royal Navy’s new Martlet missile which will be carried by Wildcat helicopters. The Martlet upgrade is part of a broader effort called Future Air Defence Availability Project which will see Thales UK in Belfast work t
Heavy seas damage US Navy ship ahead of NATO drill Trident Juncture
Two US Navy ships were forced to return to Reykjavik, Iceland, after amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) was damaged in heavy seas while en route to Norway and exercise Trident Juncture. The ship was damaged on October 22 and is currently in Iceland for further assessment. The nav
Euronaval 2018: MBDA unveils naval version of MMP
Missile systems developer MBDA has unveiled a navalized version of the MMP 5th generation ground combat missile at Euronaval. MDBA said the decision to introduce the system follows the operational evaluation campaign carried out at the end of the summer by the French armed forces in Djibouti to conf
Euronaval 2018: Saab introduces hypersonic detection mode Sea Giraffe radar
Swedish defense technology company Saab has unveiled a new “Hypersonic Detection Mode” version of its Sea Giraffe naval radar at the Euronaval show in Paris, France. Saab says the HDM version is capable of detecting and tracking targets travelling at hypersonic speeds. As explained, naval vessels fa
Terma, Chemring sign soft-kill countermeasures cooperation deal
Danish Terma and UK-based Chemring Countermeasures announce they are teaming up to develop a complete soft-kill solution for surface unit defense. By integrating Terma’s C-Guard defensive aid suite and Chemring’s CENTURION fully trainable 130mm launcher, both capable of deploying a range of off-boar
Turkish Navy conducts another submarine SINKEX
A Turkish Navy Ay-class submarine sank a decommissioned navy vessel in the country’s second known sinking exercise (SINKEX) of 2018. The exercise took place last week in the Black Sea and follows a SINKEX which took place in June when Type 209/1200 submarine TCG Yildiray launched a wire-guided torpe
USS Harry S. Truman first US carrier to operate in Arctic Circle in 27 years
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) entered the Arctic Circle on October 19, becoming the first US Navy aircraft carrier to do so in nearly 30 years. Accompanied by select ships from Carrier Strike Group Eight (CSG-8), the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) traveled north to conduct
Four injured in helicopter crash aboard French LHD Dixmude
A helicopter from the French Army 1st Combat helicopter regiment crashed aboard the amphibious assault ship BPC Dixmude during night-time flight operations on October 17. Four sailors were injured, one of them seriously, as the helicopter crashed during takeoff, the French defense ministry said. The
US Navy sub hunter aces first operational aerial refueling over Mediterranean
The US Navy has shared a photo of a Poseidon P-8A ASW maritime patrol aircraft conducting the type’s first operational aerial refueling over the Mediterranean Sea. US Navy Aircrewmen assigned to the “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 carried out the flight Oct. 15, 2018, while patrolling the US 6
F-35Bs flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth drop first test bombs
F-35 Lightning fighter jets have dropped first test bombs during flight trials on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. The inert GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided precision bombs were dropped off the east coast of the USA, marking another significant milestone in the carrier’s tri
Croatian Navy tests RBS-15 in country’s largest drill in over 20 years
The Croatian Navy performed a test firing of its RBS-15B anti-ship missile, sinking a target vessel in a maneuver conducted as part of the country’s largest military drill since the Croatian War of Independence. The sinking exercise (SINKEX) took place on October 14 in the “Dugi Otok” training range