Defence`s Feeds

River Class
(click to view full)

The UK’s forthcoming Ocean Class 90m+ Offshore Patrol Vessels stem from a shipbuilding sector agreement that the UK MoD signed with BAE in November 2013. Britain needed to find an affordable bridge-buy that kept its naval shipyards running in-between completion of existing ships, and delayed construction of the new Type 26 frigates. Rather than paying termination and industrial costs to keep the shipyard idle, the UK government decided to buy 3 OPVs, for delivery by 2017. This would also allow the Royal Navy to retire or gift out the existing River Class OPVs HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey.

As of August 2014, the contract for these new open-ocean patrol vessels is complete…

Batch 2 OPVs

The new British OPVs will be built at BAE Systems’ facilities in Glasgow, under a GBP 348 million contract announced on Aug 12/14. That brings the total to GBP 368 million, following a GBP 20 million long-lead parts contract announced on March 12/14.

The design based on vessels already sold abroad: Thailand’s HTMS Krabi, and the 3 similar Amazonas Class OPVs that Brazil picked up when Trinidad and Tobago cancelled their deal.

The new ships will be larger and more efficient than Britain’s existing River Class OPVs, with more room for embarked personnel, more storage space, and the addition of a flight deck capable of landing the Royal Navy’s AW101 Merlin medium-heavy helicopters. The Ocean Class are designed for a maximum speed of 24 knots, and a range of 5,500 nautical miles. Sources: UK MoD, “£348 million warship contract delivers Clyde jobs boost” | BAE, “New contract award for Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessels” | UK MoD, “£20 million contract for new Royal Navy ships” (March 2014) | UK MoD, “New offshore patrol vessels for Royal Navy” (Nov. 2013).

Update

December 9/16: BAE Systems has been contracted by the UK government to build two additional River-class Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Royal Navy. The $360 million deal adds two more manufacturing and support projects to the five-ship program, bringing the total contract value to $797 million. Work on the two vessels, named Tamar and Spey, will involve more than 100 companies from Britain. The designs build on existing River-class ships with variants already used by the navies of Brazil and Thailand.

Vard Marine Inc. (VARD) is a naval architecture and marine engineering company with offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ottawa, Ontario and Houston, Texas.

Length of video : 68'
You may manually download this video in WMV (624Mb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Russia may upgrade parts of its T-72 and T-90 main battle tank (MBT) fleets with the automatic target tracker (ATT) and fire control computer (FCC) installed in the Armata T-14 MBT, which is now entering production at UralVagonZavod's Nizhny Tagil facility. The installation of the ATT and the FCC

A number of new and updated training systems for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) were in evidence at the 2016 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) exhibition in Orlando in December. ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH showcased its Joint Fires

Soldiers from the Netherlands' 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade (11th Airmobile Brigade) will join the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to staff a new Long Range Reconnaissance Task Group (LRRTG). Dutch Ministry of Defence spokesman Colonel Jos van der Leij

EVENT Nearly 2,000 locals staged violent protests in the San Román district of the city of Juliaca, Puno, between 28 and 30 November over rising organised crime. The protests resulted in arson attacks on at least 30 nightclubs and bars, which the protesters claimed were owned by organised

The first of 18 Airbus Helicopters NH90 Sea Lion maritime helicopters for the German Navy made its maiden flight on 8 December, the company announced. The flight, which took place at Airbus Helicopters' Donauwörth production facility in southern Germany, marked the completion of a major

Russian president Vladimir Putin enacted a new doctrine on information security into effect on 5 December that covers technical intelligence, the defence industry, "information-psychological influence" and political destabilisation. The 17-page Presidential Decree 646 sets out Moscow's

The US Navy's Dwight D Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (Ike CSG) has resumed combat sorties from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, resuming its support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in Libya, Syria and Iraq against ISIS.

US-based aircraft manufacturing company Boeing has signed an agreement to acquire Liquid Robotics, in a bid to enhance its seabed-to-space autonomous capabilities.

The UK Royal Navy has announced an £11m investment to build a new facility especially for reservists in Cardiff Bay, Wales.

AT LEAST 93 unidentified prisoners were freed after a group of approximately five suspected Islamist militants attacked a jail in the town of Niono in Mali's Segou region on 6 December, Reuters reported. Two guards were also wounded in the attack. Three prisoners were re-captured by security forces.

While the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) held their own against the Taliban in 2016, they suffered high casualties and still require more years of training, General John W Nicholson, commander of US Forces - Afghanistan and the NATO-led 'Resolute Support' mission, said on 7

A Leonardo (Alenia) C-27J Spartan demonstrator, on a tour that includes Bolivia and Argentina, is showcasing the model to the local authorities after requests from the two countries for proposals for a medium transport of about 10 tons, and appears to be competing directly with the Airbus Defence

Key Points Sentient's ViDAR system is designed to meet a growing maritime surveillance requirement Recent trials, including 'Unmanned Warrior 2016', have demonstrated the system's ability to support a range of tasks Sentient Vision Systems' ViDAR (Visual Detection and Ranging) maritime

Chile has signed for six Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to be delivered in 2018, the manufacturer announced on 7 December. The contract signing followed a type selection made by the Chilean Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de Chile: FACh) in September, in which the Black Hawk beat off

Curtiss-Wright announced on 7 December that it had acquired Teletronics Technology Corporation (TTC). TTC is involved in flight test instrumentation systems and data acquisition, and has worked on defence programmes including the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and Boeing

Spain's Expal has demonstrated its EIMOS mortar system integrated on a four-seat URO VAMTAC ST5 light utility vehicle. During the live-fire exercise EIMOS operated alongside Expal's wider battle management and surveillance systems. The demonstration was the second that the system has undertaken,

EVENT Two Burundian colonels and one captain were arrested between 29 November and 1 December in association with a failed assassination attempt against Willy Nyamitwe, spokesman for President Pierre Nkurunziza, on 28 November. All three officers were former members of the armed wing of the