Anadolu is pictured being towed out of Sedef Shipyard for the first time on 27 February. The LPD has started SATs and is on track to be commissioned in December. (Cem Devrim Yaylali)

The Turkish Navy's landing platform dock (LPD) Anadolu has started its official sea acceptance tests (SATs), İsmail Demir, head of Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), announced on his official Twitter account on 25 June.

Following the completion of its SATs, the future flagship of the Turkish Navy and the largest ship to be operated by the service is scheduled for commissioning in December 2022.

Anadolu was built by Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, in partnership with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, under a contract signed in 2015. It is based on Navantia's Juan Carlos I-class design.

Construction began in 2016 and under the original contract terms, Anadolu was set to be delivered in 2020. However, the final stages of the programme have been delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and consideration to convert the ship to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carrier.

Anadolu

Mewa (603), the third Polish Kormoran II MCMV, is expected to be delivered later in 2022. The Polish Navy has ordered a second batch of three Kormoran IIs, which are planned to be delivered in 2026–27. (Polish Armaments Agency)

Poland's Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract for three additional Kormoran II (Project 258)-class mine-countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) on 26 June, the Polish Armaments Agency has announced.

Under the terms of the contract, valued at around PLN2.5 billion (USD563 million), the new ships are expected to be delivered in 2026–27, and will be based with the Polish Navy's 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla.

The new vessels will supplement the three Kormoran II MCMVs on order for the Polish Navy under contracts awarded to a consortium comprising Remontowa Shipbuilding (acting as the prime contractor), Gdynia naval shipyard, OBR CTM, and the CTO Ship Design and Research Centre.

The first MCMV, ORP Kormoran (601), has been in service since November 2017 and is based with the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla's 13th Minesweeper Squadron. The second and third ships, ORP Albatros (602) and ORP Mewa (603), were launched in October 2019 and December 2020, respectively.

An artist's rendering of the F-110 frigate design. (Navantia)

Navantia has successfully completed the critical design review (CDR) for the Spanish Navy's new F-110 frigate programme.

Announcing the milestone on 24 June, Navantia said this signified that the F-110 design met all the capability requirements requested by the Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) and paved the way for the shipbuilder to ramp up production activities at its yard in Ferrol.

Navantia will build five multi-purpose F-110 frigates for the Spanish Navy under a EUR4.31 billion (USD4.83 billion) contract awarded on 23 April 2019.

Steel for first-of-class Ramón de Bonifaz (F-111) was cut on 6 April 2022, and under current planning the lead ship is expected to be launched in 2025 and handed over in 2026. Delivery of all five ships is expected to be completed by 2032.