NRP Bérrio, which was decommissioned in 2020, will be replaced by two replenishment and logistics ships as part of the Portuguese Navy's national fleet renewal programme. (Victor Barreira)

The Portuguese Navy is acquiring two fleet replenishment and logistics ships as part of its national fleet renewal programme, the service has confirmed to Janes .

Competitors interested in meeting the tender have until 27 April to deliver their proposals.

A EUR100 million (USD106.4 million) budget for acquiring the two support ships was included in the Military Programming Law 2023–34, approved by the Portuguese authorities in July 2023.

An international tender by the Directorate of Ships for the construction of the ships was issued on 28 March for publication in the Official Gazette of Portugal and the Official Journal of the European Union.

The acquisition of the two ships will be ordered separately, the navy said. The construction of the first ship is scheduled to start in the second half of 2024, followed by the second in the first half of 2026, the navy added.

The keel was laid for guided-missile frigate Constellation , the lead ship for the new class of surface ships. (US Navy)

The keel for the guided-missile frigate Constellation (FFG 62), the lead ship of the new Constellation-class of ships, was laid on 12 April, the US Navy (USN) confirmed.

Speaking at the keel-laying ceremony on the same day, USN Secretary Carlo Del Toro noted the need to augment the fleet with ships like FFGs, especially with recent events in the Red Sea.

“ Constellation and the Constellation-class frigates are a critical next step in the modernisation of our surface ship inventory, increasing the number of players on the field available globally for our fleet and combatant commanders,” Del Toro said during his speech, according to the USN.

“As recent events in the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific have shown, our ships, submarines, aircraft, sailors, and marines are in high demand by our national decision makers,” he said.

Testifying on 10 April before the House Appropriations Committee (HAC), Del Toro noted some of the fleet-relative technological enhancements being advanced in the frigate programme.

The backdrop to the signing ceremony in Denmark was an F-16BM aircraft in Argentine Air Force markings. (Danish MoD)

Argentina has finalised a deal to procure surplus Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft from Denmark, signing a contract on 16 April.

The Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the milestone, saying the defence ministers of the two countries concluded the contract for the transfer of 24 former Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) F-16AM/BM jets to the Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina: FAA) during a signing ceremony at Skrydstrup Air Base in Denmark.

“I am very pleased that the Danish F-16 aircraft, which over the years have served us well and have been thoroughly maintained and technologically updated, will now benefit the Argentine Air Force,” Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said. Deliveries to Argentina are expected to commence later in 2024.

As well as finalising the procurement, the event saw one of the F-16s shown for the first time in full FAA markings.

For more information on the FAA, please seeArgentina – Air Force .