Maritime Security Vessel News Roundup | November 18 – UK and French frigates, a Norwegian Coast Guard patrol vessel and a new US-designed UUV

The Norwegian Coast Guard names its newest vessel while construction is ongoing on a French Navy multi-role frigate. The UK Defence Ministry orders additional warships from a local builder. Lastly, a US-based unmanned systems manufacturer introduces a new series of versatile, long-range underwater vehicles.

Norwegian Coast Guard christens patrol vessel Jan Mayen

The Norwegian Coast Guard formally named its newest offshore patrol vessel (OPV) in a ceremony on Wednesday, November 16.

The future NoCGV Jan Mayen is the lead ship of a new class of OPVs that will replace the coast guard’s 1980s-built Nordkapp-class.

The 136-metre, 10,400-tonne vessel was built by Vard at its Vard Tulcea facilities in Romania. Missions will include maritime sovereignty patrols, fisheries enforcement, environmental protection, and CBRN incident response.

French Navy’s newest frigate hits the water

French shipbuilder the Naval Group has launched the first defence and intervention frigate (Fregate de Defense et d’Intervention; FDI) ordered by the French Navy.

The future Amiral Ronarc’h honours Pierre-Alexis Ronarc’h, a French Navy admiral who saw service during the First World War.

Delivery is scheduled for 2024. The remaining four FDI ships will be handed over by 2030.

The FDI ships will be equipped for anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and special operations support missions.

US defence firm unveils new UUV for naval use

US defence contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), through its Mission Technologies division, has unveiled a new series of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).

Each craft in the series will have a battery life of up to 110 hours and a range of 275 nautical miles. Missions will include mine countermeasures, hydrographic surveys, intelligence collection, surveillance, and electronic warfare.

Multiple UUVs operating collaboratively can be deployed from submarines, small manned or unmanned boats, amphibious ships, surface combatants, and helicopters. Each UUV can also be used as a platform to launch and operate other unmanned vehicles or payloads from beneath the sea.

UK Ministry of Defence orders five additional Type 26 frigates

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded a £4.2 billion (US$4.95 billion) contract to BAE Systems to manufacture the next five Type 26 or City-class frigates for the Royal Navy.

The Type 26 ships will be designed for anti-submarine warfare and air defence but can quickly be adapted to transport significant volumes of humanitarian aid and to house medical facilities.

Three Type 26 ships are already under construction BAE System’s Glasgow facilities. Class lead ship HMS Glasgow is scheduled for launching before the end of this year and will be delivered to the Royal Navy in the mid-2020s.