The first pressure hull unit for Boat 1, the future HMS Dreadnought, has been transported to the Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow for outfitting before being integrated into the finished submarine. The information came to light in a tweet from BAE Systems Maritime, shown below. A great moment for teams delivering the Dreadnought programme at our Submarines business in Cumbria. The first pressure hull unit for Boat 1 has been transported to the Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow for outfitting before being integrated into the finished submarine. pic.twitter.com/PCyKilYUFx — BAE Systems Maritime (@BA ..read more

NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Bulgaria reached full operational capability on Wednesday, say the Alliance. The milestone was marked by a ceremony presided over by Bulgaria’s Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, and the Commander of Italy’s Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo. “Just days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the battlegroup was established in Kabile on 1 March, on the basis of the Bulgarian Land Forces’ 42nd Mechanized Battalion. Italy assumed the role of framework nation in mid-October, contributing some 740 personnel from t ..read more

The vessel charged with keeping Britain’s aircraft carrier task groups stocked up with supplies is returning to operations after an extensive refit. RFA Fort Victoria recently spent some time at Birkenhead’s Cammell Laird shipyard for extensive repairs and upgrades, especially on her engines, “to ready her for the front line once again ahead of a jam-packed 2023”. Captain Martin Jones, Commanding Officer of Fort Victoria, was quoted as saying: “It’s pleasing to get Fort Victoria back to sea after a lengthy period in the shipyard and allow her to stretch her legs. We are very much looking forwa ..read more

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday stressed the importance of continued NATO Allied support to Ukraine as it faces Russia’s war of aggression. Addressing the Financial Times’ Global Boardroom event via video link, Mr Stoltenberg said the conflict would likely enter a quieter phase over winter but that Russia is showing no sign of seeking a peaceful end to the conflict. “Russia is trying to freeze the conflict” in order to “regroup and launch a bigger offensive later on because Ukraine now has the momentum,” Mr Stoltenberg said. He reiterated that Ukraine would decide on the t ..read more

A recent report from the National Audit Office stated that the Royal Navy withdrew its plans for Type 32 frigates because of concerns about unaffordability, however, it has emerged that work on the project is continuing. The November 2022 report of the National Audit Office on The Equipment Plan 2022-2032 stated that in July 2022 “Navy Command withdrew its plans for Type 32 frigates and MRSS [Multi-Role Support Ships] because of concerns about unaffordability. The revised costing profile is likely to be significantly higher”. Addressing the above, John Healey, Shadow Secretary of State for Def ..read more

Germany’s Bundeswehr and Airbus have jointly carried out the world’s first successful launch and operation of a Remote Carrier flight test demonstrator from a flying A400M. The firm say that “multiplying the force and extending the range of unmanned systems” will be one of the future roles of Airbus’ military transport aircraft in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). “The excellent collaboration with our German customer and partners on the A400M UAV Launcher campaign is further evidence of how the development of FCAS will take innovation and technologies to the next level,” said Airbus Defence ..read more

The Royal Navy has completed a major European deployment from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Nine warships, F-35B Lightning jets, helicopters and thousands of sailors and Royal Marines Commandos were part of Operation Achillean, according to a news release. “The operation finished on Saturday as HMS Albion’s amphibious task group returned to the UK after three months operating in Europe in a demonstration of NATO unity.” The Royal Navy said on its website that HMS Albion’s task force of four ships – RFA Argus, HMS Defender, and RFA Mounts Bay, together known as Littoral Response Group Nor ..read more

U.S. Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee and Royal Navy Vanguard-class nuclear submarine, both armed with Trident nuclear missiles, featured in a rare photoshoot in the North Atlantic. A U.S. Navy image shows the submarines plus an American E6-B Mercury assigned to the ‘Shadows’ of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 and an MH60R Sea Hawk helicopter attached to the ‘Proud Warriors’ of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72. The event was, say the U.S. Navy, designed to conduct bi-lateral at sea training “to validate tactics, techniques, and procedures which strengthen the ..read more

On 8 December 2022, the Ministry of Defence signed an amendment to a contract with Eurosam, a consortium of companies managed by MBDA, for the production of Aster 30 Block 1 missiles. The contract, which was signed by the OCCAR-EA Director on behalf of the UK MoD, will see the UK join a multi-national partnership with France and Italy for the production of the Aster missile system. I previously reported an initial contract worth £300m had been signed with MBDA. The upgraded defence system, using the ASTER 30 Block 1 missile previously used only in French and Italian land systems, to help UK fo ..read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on leaders in the west to “follow the example of the United Kingdom” when Prime Minister Boris Johnson conducted a surprise visit to the capital of Ukraine at the weekend. The Prime Minister met the Ukrainian President on Saturday in a surprise visit to Kyiv. This video is a successful “photo opportunity” for @BorisJohnson but it is also very popular here in Ukraine: Ukrainians get to see their President walk the streets of Kyiv and interact with people like he hadn’t done since the Russian invasion began. pic.twitter.com/LXFVv686Lq — Philip ..read more