Category: Headlines Slider

Russian Navy puts world's largest submarine into service

On Friday, 8 July 2022, the "Belgorod" (project 09852) was handed over to the Russian Navy. The ceremonial signing of the acceptance protocol and the handover, during which the St Andrew's flag is hoisted in accordance with Russian procedure, took place at the Sevmash shipyard (Severodvinsk/Arkhangelsk). According to a press release from the shipyard, the ceremony was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Defence, the Navy, the administrations of the Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk oblasts and representatives of the shipbuilding industry. Launched in 1992 as one of the Oscar II type boats (project 949B), it took twenty years before delivery. In 2000, after the disaster with the predecessor boat K-141 "Kursk"...

Read More

US Navy: Third Constellation frigate under contract with Marinette

In July 2017, the U.S. Navy's Department of Defence announced the tender for the FFG(X) frigate project with twenty units. The FFG(X) was to be the successor to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS, Independence and Freedom classes), which did not quite meet the Navy's expectations precisely because of its complex, expensive and vulnerable modularity. It selected five shipbuilders worldwide who were asked to submit their designs for the planned FFG(X) missile frigate. In the US, the procurement process separates the design selection and the award of a single-ship construction contract. In April 2020, it was then announced that Fincantieri Marinette Marine (Italy) had been awarded the...

Read More

British OPV on 5-year deployment to the Western Pacific

Their five-year trip to East Asia, or Indo-Asia-Pacific Deployment, began nine months ago. The two OPVs, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey (Modified River class), are certainly not big ships, but with a length of 81 metres and a displacement of 1,800 tonnes, they have to "shimmy" their way through in stages. Departing from Portsmouth in September, it has so far travelled via Colombia, the Panama Canal and up the US west coast to Hawaii. In January, the Chinese South Pacific was on the programme with reconnaissance and monitoring of unauthorised maritime activities, such as the ship-to-ship transfer of North Korean-flagged vessels (UN Security Council embargo). This was followed in February by participation in the "Bersama...

Read More

Banal airship or "airyacht"?

Airships are a German invention, Count Zeppelin and Hugo Eckener are the great names that have left their mark. Lake Constance and Friedrichshafen will forever be associated with this pioneering era. However, every grandly conceived use of this "giant technology" ended tragically, whether as a weapon of war in the First World War or as a passenger solution in Lakehurst. The USA even used airships as aircraft carriers - perhaps someone will write something about this. The commercial use never materialised either, most recently in 2002 with the insolvency of the Cargolifter company, whose hangar is now a huge adventure swimming park. Otherwise, "blimps" are a joy for paying tourist sightseeing flights (is it actually called "flight"?) or...

Read More

"Top Gun" cinema release - Maverick is back

It's not just fans of the 1986 blockbuster who are delighted, but the aviation community in particular. And whether they admit it or not and hide the sparkle in their eyes behind the RayBan: it's "a thing", even for our naval aviators. Unfortunately, the navy no longer has Tornados to operate over the sea. Admittedly, the German Navy's aircraft are not that fast either. Nevertheless, this is no reason not to use the new edition of Top Gun as PR for the naval aviators. The pilots and crews of the naval aircraft are the heroes and heroines in reality, not in Cinemascope...

Read More
en_GBEnglish