Free Republic

US considers granting missile ships to Turkey WASHINGTON / ANKARA As Turkey plans developing its national naval vehicles, a US bill to the House of Representatives suggests granting guided missile frigates to Turkey. The bill angers a particular Hellenic-US group A recent bill has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives that would authorize President Barack Obama to grant the provision of guided missile-firing naval vessels to Turkey, along with several other countries, including Thailand and Mexico. Under the motion, Turkey may receive the USS Halyburton (FFG–40) and the USS Thach (FFG–43) ships. USS Halybutron is the 34th ship...

DCNS to unveil new FREMM Frigate variant, updated BRAVE supply ship design at Euronaval 2012 At the 23rd EURONAVAL show to be held from 22 to 26 October 2012 at the Paris-le Bourget exhibition center, DCNS will unveil several new designs of submarines and surface vessels. Among them are the new FREMM-ER (for Extend Range) Frigate dedicated to Air Defense missions and an updated design for the BRAVE replenishment ship which was first unveiled two years ago at Euronaval 2010. The new FREMM ER (Extended Range) Frigate dedicated to Air Defense missions (Picture: DCNS) The FREMM-ER was designed with a...

A Russian border patrol ship in the Sea of Japan opened fire on a schooner poaching under the Chinese flag, a news report said Tuesday. The crew of the Dzerzhinsky spotted the Chinese vessel Monday within Russia's exclusive economic zone and attempted to contact it, a border patrol spokesman told RIA-Novosti. But the ship did not respond and attempted to escape, prompting a three-hour pursuit in which Russian border guards first fired warning shots, then collided with the vessel and fired on it directly as the crew of the schooner tried to resist being boarded by Russian troops.

Pak-China friendship: Pakistan to get four more F-22p Frigates Karachi: Pakistan is going to obtain four F-22P Frigates to be built in Pakistan in collaboration with China as part of country’s efforts to strengthen its navy. Recently Pakistan was has got three frigate from China while fourth is being built. Previously, China also handed over four frigates to Pakistan. According to a report, published in Daily Jang, the leading Urdu daily of the country, Pakistan was happy over getting the fighters at low price and got booked orders for four new ships. The report said that the Chinese frigate costs...

Taiwan plans to buy 'four warships from US' Taiwan plans to purchase four warships from the United States as part of the island's efforts to modernise its forces and offset the perceived military threat from China, local media reported on Sunday. The defence ministry briefed President Ma Ying-jeou on the proposed arms deal during a meeting last month and is prepared to set aside the budget next year, the United Daily News said, without specifying the cost. The ministry declined to comment on the report. If finalised, the arms deal will increase to 12 the total number of such warships...

Type 26: The future backbone of the Royal Navy 05 April 2012 Brian Johnson, UK business development director at BAE Systems, answers questions about the Type 26 Global Combat Ship Can you provide some detail on the size and makeup of the team involved, their experience levels and the overall working approach to the design process? The team working on the Type 26 programme is currently around 250 strong. The team is centred in Bristol but a large design team is also based at BAE Systems' facility at Scotstoun in Glasgow. The team is a genuine 'rainbow' team comprising of...

Industry view: Why the Navy needs a ‘Patrol Frigate’ In this commentary, Huntington-Ingalls Industries’ corporate director of customer relations, Patrick H. Stadt, makes the case for a U.S. Navy version of the company’s National Security Cutter. The fourth of eight planned National Security Cutters is currently in production at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The first three cutters have been delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard and are already proving themselves as highly capable, multi-mission ships. The NSC’s capabilities not only support the traditional U.S. Coast Guard missions of search and rescue, fisheries enforcement and counter narcotic...

Ingalls Shipbuilding Highlighting Patrol Frigate Derivative of National Security Cutter at DIMDEX DOHA, Qatar, Mar 26, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries /quotes/zigman/4475302/quotes/nls/hii HII +1.84% will participate in Doha's International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) this week, highlighting the new patrol frigate derivative of the company's proven U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter. The patrol frigate could be built at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi. "The Ingalls patrol frigate design has already proven its seaworthiness in U.S. Coast Guard service," said Dan Holloway, HII's corporate vice president for customer relations. "Our analysis has shown...

France to Sell Frigates to Greece in Controversial Deal Berlin is unhappy about a weapons deal in which France plans to supply warships to highly indebted Greece free of charge for the first five years, and at a big discount when payment comes due. Firms and politicians in Germany say taxpayers may end up paying for part of the deal, and they want Chancellor Angela Merkel to intervene. A huge arms deal is threatening to put French-German relations under strain. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, France wants to deliver two to four new frigates to the Greek navy and...

Spain’s Aegis Frigates Could Join Europe’s Missile Defense Shield Lajos F. Szaszdi October 13, 2011 at 12:58 pm A week ago, the Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero agreed to Spain’s participation in NATO’s European missile defense system by allowing four U.S. Navy Aegis guided-missile destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class to be stationed at the naval base of Rota, in southwestern Spain. These destroyers are armed with the Standard SM-3 surface-to-air missile (SAM) designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. Navy destroyers will be based in Rota beginning in 2013, along with...

DCNS launches Moroccan FREMM frigate 18:57 GMT, September 14, 2011 Lorient | On 14 September 2011, DCNS launched the FREMM multimission frigate for the Royal Moroccan Navy. The launch took place at DCNS's Lorient shipyard in the presence of senior Moroccan and French officials and is a major milestone in the construction of the vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2013. DCNS today launched the FREMM multimission frigate for Morocco. The event at the Group's Lorient shipyard was attended by Admiral Laghmari, Inspector General of Royal Moroccan Navy, Admiral Verwaerde of the French Navy and Patrick Boissier, Chairman & CEO of...

Russian Navy orders 3 more Krivak IV class frigates Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation said on Wednesday it has signed a contract with the Defense Ministry on the construction of another three Krivak IV class frigates for the Russian Navy. The new contract under the 2011 state defense order stipulates the construction of the warships by 2016. The first three Krivak IV class frigates are being built at the Yantar Shipyard in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. The warships are expected to enter service with Russia's Black Sea Fleet based on the Crimean peninsula. A Krivak IV class frigate is equipped...

First SIGMA class frigate transferred to the Royal Moroccan Navy Written by defenceWeb Tuesday, 13 September 2011 The SIGMA class frigate Tarik ben Ziyad was yesterday transferred to the Royal Moroccan Navy after completing sea trials and outfitting. The SIGMA (Ship Integrated Geometrical Modularity Approach) frigate, built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, was handed over to Rear Admiral Mohamed Laghmari, the Commander in Chief of the Royal Moroccan Navy on time and on schedule. After commissioning, the crew will continue with another three weeks of Sail Safety Training in Den Helder and the North Sea....

Designing the Type 26 frigate 05 September 2011 | By Stuart Nathan The Royal Navy is going through one of the most tumultuous periods in its entire illustrious, five-century existence. It’s a time of conflicting emotions as the old flagship, Ark Royal, is sent into history before its time, according to some commentators while new Type 45 destroyers take their first trip down the Clyde and into service. The submarine fleet is also being refreshed, with the new Astute-class attack boats on sea trials. And nobody could fail to notice the massive sections of the new flagship, Queen Elizabeth, arriving...

Stealth warship INS Satpura joins navy Ajai Shukla / Mumbai August 21, 2011, 0:01 IST In a centuries-old naval ritual in Mumbai on Saturday, navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma commissioned into active service Indian Naval Ship (INS) Satpura. “I wish the crew fair winds and following seas”, Verma intoned, in the traditional naval goodwill message, before raising the Indian flag on the Satpura’s helicopter deck and unveiling the ships plaque. The band struck up the national anthem, the tricolour was raised on the helicopter deck and INS Satpura became the 140th warship of the Indian Navy. The INS Satpura, which...

UK proposes building future warships with India Ajai Shukla / New Delhi August 11, 2011, 0:24 IST If deal goes through, one of our new pvt sector shipyards could bag contract With defence ministry shipyards unable to meet the Indian Navy’s growing need for warships, New Delhi had no choice but to look to Russian shipyards. Now, with Britain looking to partner India to cut the UK’s warship building costs, one of India’s new private defence shipyards — which have high-tech facilities but no experience in building large, complex warships — could get the opportunity to build its first line...

Top architect proposes new type of frigate for the Navy The nation’s leading independent naval architectural firm has been quietly gauging whether senior Navy officials are interested in a new class of frigate that would be smaller and lighter replacement for the aging ships now being phased out of service. The new 3,500-ton "light frigates" would be more heavily armed than previous models and be capable of carrying out a variety of missions over a wide area of the world’s oceans. Gibbs & Cox of Arlington, Va., says it has produced concept drawings for a roughly 400-foot steel-hull, twin-propellor, diesel-powered...

Italian Navy: tomorrow "Carlo Bergamini" frigate's launch, which can take helicopters on board Rome, Italy - Two NH-90 or one of them and a EH-101 (WAPA) - Tomorrow, on Saturday, July 16, at the Fincantieri shipyards in Riva Trigoso (Genoa), will take place the ceremony of launch of the first multi-role frigate "Carlo Bergamini" (F590). The event was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Biagio Abrate and Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, Team Admiral Bruno Branciforte. The authorities will be received by Fincantieri CEO, Giuseppe Bono. Sponsor of the launch will be Mrs Maria Bergamini Loedler,...

Fourth F-22P frigate of Pakistan Navy launched our correspondent Friday, June 17, 2011 Karachi The fourth and last frigate of F-22P series for the Pakistan Navy was launched here on Thursday, which has been built at the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) with Chinese assistance. The frigate, designated PNS Aslat, was launched at a ceremony held at the KSEW with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir as chief guest. The F-22P frigate would be handed over to Pakistan Navy in December 2012, after complete construction of the ship and equipping it with required armoury and sensors, making it...

The Air Defense Frigate Chevalier Paul Cleared for Active Duty (Source: French navy; issued June 10, 2011) (Issued in French only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com) Admission to active duty is an essential step in the life of any ship. ‘Chevalier Paul’ will now be able to conduct operational missions and, in the coming days, she will take part in ‘Operation Harmattan,’ France’s share of the U.N. mission in Libya. The frigate Chevalier Paul is the result of the Franco-Italian naval HORIZON program, which included the construction of two new-generation frigates for each country, and thus initiated the renewal of the...