DCNS has launched its first Gowind type offshore patrol vessel. The 87m L’Adroit is unusual in being an entirely self-funded showcase project with eleven companies supplying systems and equipment free of charge. Once the ship is completed later this year…
In a ceremony in Portsmouth the Royal Navy’s new Antarctic patrol vessel was officially named HMS ‘Protector’ before being formally commissioned into the Navy’s fleet on Thursday, June 23rd. The ‘Protector’ has been leased from Norway’s GC Rieber Shipping for…
An eight-year mission safeguarding two important oil platforms has come to an end for Coalition forces, with the Iraqi Navy taking over full responsibility for their security. Since the fall of the Saddam regime in 2003, the waters around the…
Aquitaine, lead ship of the FREMM multi-mission frigate project, put to sea for the first time on 18 April, a month ahead of schedule. The 6,000-tonne frigate conducted initial sea trials off the Brittany peninsula lasting several weeks. Key among…
Australia has successfully bid for RFA Largs Bay, which was declared surplus to requirements in the UK Government’s 2010 Defence Strategic Review. The five-year old Bay class landing ship was purchased for £65 million (approximately A$100 million). The acquisition is…
Not even the timely intervention by the Royal Navy in the Libya crisis has been enough to make the government reconsider a cut in the number of fleet escorts. Despite her prominent role in emergency evacuation of nationals and subsequent…
HMS Bristol has returned to Portsmouth following a major overhaul by A&P Tyne. The Tyneside-built warship underwent a £4 million makeover to bring her up to the latest safety standards that will keep her in service for another ten years.…
HMS Bulwark has emerged from an 11-month upgrade and maintenance period carried out at HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth. The £30 million refit took place during the ship’s first major docking period since being commissioned in April 2005. The amphibious…
During March and April US and British warships and submarines launched a barrage of cruise missiles against a number of air defence systems in Libya. With a mandate authorised by UN Security Council Resolution 1973 more than 100 Tomahawk land-attack…
Progress on the French Navy’s next generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines has achieved another production milestone with completion of the first section of the second vessel, Duguay-Trouin, at DCNS’s Cherbourg facility. The steel alloy hull section weighing 40 tonnes will…