Four U.S. Navy ships and a Royal Navy ship entered the Barents Sea, working together to conduct maritime security operations in the challenging environmental conditions above the Arctic Circle, May 4, 2020.
The French Navy’s first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) “Suffren” successfully completed its static dive test on April 28. The important milestone marked the start of sea trials for the Barracuda program.
Australia’s Department of Defense ordered six new Cape Class Patrol Boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The vessels will be built by local shipbuilder Austal. The Australian Border Force currently operates eight Cape-class Patrol Boats, while the RAN operates two leased Cape-class.
Here is Naval News’ Monthly Recap video for April 2020.
Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine Corporation was awarded a $795 mil US Navy contract for detail design & construction of the first ship at its Marinette shipyard in Wisconsin. Options for up to 10 ships could make the contract worth up to $5.6 billion. Fincantieri was competing with a frigate design based on the Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate.
Underwater gliders that can rapidly send vital information that could give an extra edge to the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations are being rigorously trialed in the North Atlantic.
The German Federal Cabinet has extended the anti-piracy mission EUNAVFOR (European Union Naval Force Somalia) – Operation Atalanta – in the Horn of Africa. The mandate, which expires on 31 May 2020, is to be continued for a further year until 31 May. 2021. The Bundestag (German parliament) still has to discuss and then vote on it.
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth set sails from Portsmouth yesterday to ensure she is ready to conduct her first operational deployment in 2021.
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) launched ROKS Donghae (FFG-822), the fourth Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigate for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy). The event took place on April 29 at the HHI shipyard in Ulsan.
The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) dispatched for the first time one of its FREMM Frigates to patrol the Gulf of Guinea while the French Navy (Marine Nationale) suspended its maritime security mission off West Africa.
