22 June 2022
by Aleksandar Mladenov & Krasimir Grozev
The keel-laying ceremony for the first of two Multipurpose Modular Patrol Vessels to be built for the Bulgarian Navy was held on 17 June at MTG Dolphin's shipyard near Varna, in the attendance of country's president, Rumen Radev, and the minister of defence, Dragomir Zakov. (Bulgarian Navy)
German shipbuilder NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of two Multipurpose Modular Patrol Vessels (MMPVs) on order for the Bulgarian Navy at the yard of its local shipbuilding partner MTG Dolphin in Varna, Bulgaria on 17 June.
The new ship, named Hrabri (12), is planned to be delivered to the Bulgarian Navy in late 2025. Meanwhile, the keel for sister ship Smeli (11) will be laid in early 2023 and is expected to be handed over in late 2026.
The MMPVs are being built under a contract signed with NVL Group on 12 November 2020 valued at BGN820 million (USD473 million). The vessels are based on the NVL Group's OPV-90 model.
23 April 2024
by Kate Tringham
Cayor , the third and final OPV 58S, was formally handed over to Senegal during a ceremony in Concarneau on 16 April. (Senegalese Navy)
French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered the final missile-armed Walo (OPV 58 S)-class offshore patrol ship to Senegal, completing the three-ship programme.
The last vessel in the class, named Cayor, was formally handed over during a ceremony held in Concarneau, France, on 16 April, the shipbuilder confirmed the same day.
According to Piriou, the shipbuilding programme was completed on time and “mobilised hundreds of employees for four years and represented more than 600,000 hours of work”.
Piriou built and delivered the three OPV 58 S ships under a contract signed with the Ministry of the Armed Forces of Senegal in November 2019. The construction programme was carried out with the support of Kership, the joint venture founded by Piriou and Naval Group in 2013.
23 April 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
Pilots from the French Navy surveillance frigate Vendémiaire (F734) practice landing aboard the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) during an interoperability exercise. Blue Ridge is the flagship for Commander, US 7th Fleet. (US Navy)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military have begun the most complex iteration of Exercise ‘Balikatan', which is seeing the first-time participation of a French Navy warship and vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
A ceremony to mark the start of the exercise was held on 22 April at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines. Drills under the annual bilateral exercise will be held at various locations across the Philippines till 10 May.
“With over 16,000 service members participating across Luzon from today until 10 May, ‘Balikatan' 2024 is designed to address the ever-evolving security landscape in the region and is poised to be the most complex and comprehensive iteration to date,” reads a statement issued by the AFP on 22 April.
23 April 2024
by Kate Tringham
MdCN is launched from the FREMM frigate Aquitaine on 18 April. (French Navy)
The French Navy has successfully conducted its first simultaneous test launch of the Missile de Croisière Navale (MdCN)naval cruise missile from a frigate and a submarine.
The test-firing was carried out by the service's lead multimission (FREMM) frigate Aquitaine, positioned off the coast of Brittany, and one of its Suffren (Barracuda)-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), located off the coast of Biscarrosse, on 18 April, the Ministry of Armed Forces of France confirmed the same day.
During the test the two vessels launched a co-ordinated strike against a ground target located at the DGA's Biscarrosse missile test centre at Landes in southwestern France – with both missiles engaging their target “in perfect synchronisation”, the Ministry of Armed Forces of France said.
In a statement issued the same day the French Navy said the test was carried out in operational conditions to strengthen the operational know-how and combat skills of the service.
German shipbuilder NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of t...
In this podcast Janes analysts discuss the Iranian attacks on Israel on the 14 April. They highlight the military systems used by Iran and the performance and impact of these on Israel. They also discuss the implications of this attack goi...
Listen now