The US Navy has commissioned its newest destroyer while construction continues on a Swedish frigate, a Singaporean patrol vessel, and an Italian submarine. A Danish consortium has been selected to build a new class of minelaying ships that are also capable of environmental protection missions.
The US Navy commissioned the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ted Stevens during a ceremony in Whittier, Alaska, on Saturday, October 3.
The ship, which will be based at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, is a flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, having been equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defence radar and the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system. The navy said the flight III upgrade, centred on the SPY-6 radar, enables the destroyer to be used for anti-air warfare as well as ballistic missile defence.
Other missions include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and strike warfare using the Mk 41 vertical launching system.
The late Ted Stevens, the ship’s namesake, represented Alaska in the US Senate from December 1968 to January 2009. He was also a US Army Air Corps pilot who flew transport missions in the China-Burma-India theatre during World War II.
The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has contracted Orlogsskibe Danmark to build four environmental response and minelaying vessels for the Royal Danish Navy.
The consortium said the contract is valued at about DKK1.9 billion (US$290 million). Deliveries are expected between 2028 and 2030.
Orlogsskibe Danmark comprises naval architecture firm OSK Design and shipbuilders Karstensens Skibsværft and Hvide Sande Shipyard. The consortium said larger hulls are produced at Karstensens’ Polish subsidiary while design, outfitting, completion, and maintenance will be undertaken in Denmark.
Baird Maritime previously covered the agreement signed earlier this year as well as the initial construction work.
Fassmer’s shipyard in Berne, Germany, hosted the launch of Sentinel, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) first offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Sentinel class, on Thursday, October 1.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said the four OPVs, built specifically for the role, will strengthen the RSN’s maritime-security capability and replace its current fleet of Sentinel-class MSRVs (maritime security and response vessels).
Before departing for Singapore, Sentinel will complete acceptance checks on the platform and conduct sea trials to assess its systems and performance.
The remaining vessels, Guardian, Protector and Bastion, are being built.
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri laid the keel of the Italian Navy's second U212 NFS diesel-electric submarine in a ceremony at its Muggiano facilities on Thursday, October 1.
Upon entering service, the submarine will be used for missions including anti-piracy patrols, security of energy supply routes, anti-terrorism missions, and protection of offshore and subsea infrastructure.
Deliveries of the first two boats in the class are scheduled for 2027 and 2029, respectively.
The U212 NFS submarines will replace the four ageing Nazario Sauro-class boats that entered service with the Italian Navy from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. The newer boats will be fitted with air-independent propulsion systems.
Naval Group began construction of the Royal Swedish Navy’s first defence and intervention frigate (FDI), Luleå, with a steel-cutting ceremony at its Lorient shipyard in France on Thursday, October 1.
The ceremony followed the August 31 signing of a contract for four FDI frigates between Naval Group and Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV).
France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces says the first vessel is due in 2030, and the other three are scheduled by 2034.
Naval Group said its Lorient production line can deliver two FDI frigates annually. A total of 13 have been ordered for three NATO navies: five for France and four each for Greece and Sweden. The company also reported that new delivery slots remain available in 2030.