The Bulgarian Navy received an additional Airbus Helicopter AS365N3 + Dauphin II (tail number 905) naval helicopter on December 6, 2019, at the Chaika airfield in Varna. This unit was procured as a replacement of the AS565MB Panther that crashed in 2017.
Ukraine’s LUCH design bureau and the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue the development test of the RK-360MTS mobile coastal defense system and its R-360 anti-ship missile. The most recent test took place in late November and evaluated the long range flight capabilities of the missile.
Following the recent Dutch government announcement regarding the Walrus-class replacement program, Saab-Damen and Naval Group each issued a statement. The German shipbuilder TKMS has yet to comment.
In a European first, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) demonstrated a cooperative engagement between two of its surface vessels. The “Veille Coopérative Navale” test took place in September 2019.
The Mexican Navy (Armada de México) announced that its first of class Patrulla Oceánica de Largo Alcance (long range oceanic patrol vessel or POLA) ARM “Reformador” successfully completed its Sea Acceptance Trials (SAT).
The Finnish Navy (Merivoimat) unveiled some details about its future anti-ship missile: The Gabriel V. The information is limited but since details on Gabriel V were pretty much non-existent to date, it is a good start and worth a mention here.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense today issued the B-Letter for the Walrus-class submarine replacement program confirming its intent to procure 4 new submarines and shortlisting three shipbuilders for this procurement process: Naval Group, Saab and TKMS.
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) started builder trials of ‘Aotearoa’, the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new auxiliary ship. The vessel headed out to sea for the first time earlier this week in South Korea.
The Arktika lead nuclear icebreaker of project 22220 built by the Baltic Shipyard began the first stage of running trials, the enterprise said.
Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) launched four more PKX-B patrol vessels for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy) during a ceremony held today at its shipyard in Busan, South Korea.
