NAVAL NEWS SEPTEMBER 2021

Navy Forces Naval Maritime Defense Security Industry


During the COMPASS2020 demonstration, Airbus showcased their DeckFinder technology to launch and recover a rotary wing UAV from the Portuguese Offshore Patrol Vessel NRP Setubal, successfully completing more than 10 fully autonomous launches and recoveries.

According to a press release published by Naval Group on September 28, 2021, Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, the Greek Minister of Defence, Pierre Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, and Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to open negotiations to provide the Hellenic Navy (HN) with three Defence and Intervention frigates (FDI HN) and their equipment as well as an optional additional frigate. Contrary to what we said based on Greek City Times, France and Greece have only signed an MOU, and this one concerns only the IDF and not the Gowind-class.

In a major boost to Defence Production under the ‘Make in India’ initiative and towards achieving self-reliance in the critical field of Defence equipment, Goa Shipyard has placed a maiden order on Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for supply of an upgraded Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM), the Main gun onboard most Warships of the Indian Navy.

Leonardo will provide logistics support and maintenance services for the OTO 76/62 SR weapon systems on-board the French Navy’s Horizon, FREMM (Frégate européenne multi-mission) and FDI (Frégates de Défense et d'Intervention)-class frigates. The services will be carried out over ten years and their delivery forms part of a framework agreement that extends an existing maintenance contract for France’s Horizon-class frigates.

The remotely controlled Narval combat module developed by Electromashina NPO (a subsidiary of UralVagonZavod group company of the ROSTEC State Corporation) has been successfully tested, general director of the company Igor Afanasyev reported on September 29.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the first time approved a point-to-point domestic flight of an unmanned aircraft that utilized the UK’s airways structure when General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) flew its MQ-9B SeaGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) from Lincolnshire, England to Moray, Scotland on Sept. 12, 2021. The GA-ASI-owned RPA flew from Royal Air Force (RAF) Waddington to RAF Lossiemouth and the SeaGuardian flight was controlled by NATS, the UK’s civilian Air Navigation Service Provider.

Silent Forces Exercise (SIFOREX) 2021 concluded with a closing ceremony taking place in Callao, Peru, Sept. 24.  SIFOREX, conducted Sept. 19-24, is a Peruvian-hosted naval exercise that focuses on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) proficiency. It provides a unique opportunity for naval forces to conduct ASW operations against multiple submarines in a complex environment.

According to information published by Tass on September 24, 2021, the second serial Project 955A Borei-A class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Generalissimo Suvorov being built by the Sevmash Shipyard will start its sea trials in 2022, Deputy CEO for military shipbuilding of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Vladimir Korolyov told.

Page 1 of 5