Category: Marines from all over the world

US Navy receives another LCS

The US Navy has had another littoral combat ship since 17 April. The USS Oakland was officially commissioned in the presence of Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker. The ship of the Independence variant will find its home port in San Diego, California. The Littoral Combat Ships are fast, lightly armed vessels designed for use in coastal areas. Their outstanding feature is their modularisation, which allows them to be converted relatively quickly to meet the requirements of specific missions. Text: mb; Photos: US...

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Will Lürssen soon be building for Australia?

The Lürssen design of the Arafura class (Offshore Combat Vessel, Project Sea 1180) was selected by the Australian government at the end of January as a possible prototype for the Navy's newly planned mine defence and survey capabilities MMCMMS (Maritime Mine Coutermeasures & Military Survey, Project Sea 1905). In addition to the twelve 80-metre OCVs that have already been launched, a further six mine countermeasures and two hydrographic platforms with slightly longer hulls, but with very important common features, would then provide the Australian Navy with a technically and logistically coherent equipment in the boat segment from 2025. In addition to the existing armament components of the OCVs, the extended units are to carry further unmanned and autonomous underwater and surface capability carriers under the stern platform...

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Three years from keel laying to delivery

The French Navy will soon have one more ship. In the presence of Defence Minister Florence Parly, the Alsace was handed over to the French procurement authority DGA at Naval Group in Toulon. This makes her the seventh Fremm frigate for the French Navy. The keel was laid in February 2018 and the ship has been undergoing sea trials since October last year. According to the shipyard, the entire construction programme was completed on schedule. Although the Alsace is build number seven of the Fremm frigates for the Marine Nationale, it is the first ship to be designed specifically for air defence. In the future, she will...

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Mysterious incidents off the coast of the UAE

According to reports from pro-Iranian media and an Israeli television station on Tuesday, 13 April, a merchant ship was attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. It is said to be the Hyperion Ray, a vehicle transporter built in 2015, 200 metres long and 36 metres wide, which sails for the Ray Car Carrier shipping company. The ship was en route from Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the United Arab Emirates. At around midday on 13 April (around seven o'clock CET), the Hyperion Ray reported suspicious ship movements in its immediate vicinity. Satellite images show a larger cargo ship, which according to reports the Hyperion Ray was carrying...

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Farewell after the fire disaster

On 14 April, the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) was decommissioned by the Navy in a ceremony. The amphibious landing ship had been severely damaged in a fire last year. An explosion occurred on board during a harbour layover at the San Diego naval base, and the subsequent fire destroyed large parts of the Bonhomme Richard. Only after five days was the Navy able to report that the fire had been extinguished. The subsequent assessment of the damage revealed that more than three billion dollars would have to be budgeted for the necessary repairs. The Navy then decided to decommission the ship. The Bonhomme Richard was...

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