Marine Link
Thursday, November 6, 2025

Frigate News

17 Sep 2025

Greece Security Council Approves Purchase of Fourth Belharra Frigate from France

© Adobe Stock/nattapon7

Greece's security council, KYSEA, approved on Wednesday the purchase of a fourth Belharra frigate from France to modernise its armed forces and as it tries to keep pace with historic rival Turkey, two government sources told Reuters.Greece has a long-standing dispute with its NATO ally Turkey over maritime waters, and the security council meeting comes after Ankara said it would conduct scientific research in the Aegean Sea in the coming days.Athens agreed in 2021 to procure new Belharra frigates for about 3.0 billion euros ($3.3 billion), with an option for one more, as it aims to replace old

02 Sep 2025

PALFINGER MARINE Secures Repeat Order for Japan’s New FFM-Class Multirole Frigates

Picture of a Mogami-class Frigate © Ministry of Defense website (https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/en/equipment/)

Building on the successful delivery of the Slipway Systems for all twelve Mogami-class Multirole Frigates, PALFINGER has again been selected to supply its technology for Japan’s next-generation FFM-class Multirole Frigates. PALFINGER’s stern launch and recovery systems are designed to optimize the deployment and retrieval of USVs and boats during naval operations, offering efficient and dependable solutions tailored to the needs of Governmental, Navy and Coast Guard vessels.While maintaining visual similarities with the existing Mogami-class…

26 Jun 2025

Konecranes Installed Unique Crane Solution for Naval Frigates at BAE Production Facility

© Konecranes

Konecranes has completed an order for BAE System’s new Govan shipbuilding hall that includes two 20t x 56m electric overhead travelling (EOT) cranes and two 100t x 70m Goliath cranes. The hall will be able to build two Type 26 naval frigates at the same time, accelerating efficiency and removing any impact of the Scottish weather on production. The order was completed in June 2025.Measuring 170m long and 80m wide, the hall consists of more than 6,000 tonnes of steel and 20,000m3 of concrete, and accommodate up to 500 workers per shift.

24 Jun 2025

Contract Signed for In-Service Support of FREMM Frigates

© Orizzonte Sistemi Navali/Fincantieri

Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), the joint venture owned by Fincantieri and Leonardo, has signed the Through Life Sustainment Management (TLSM 2) in-service support contract with OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). This marks the continuation of a long-standing strategic collaboration that began with the delivery of the first FREMM-class frigates and their related logistical support. TLSM2 is an in-service support contract for all systems and equipments on FREMM units built and delivered by OSN to the Italian Navy.The agreement…

23 Jun 2025

Greece Vessels to Curb Migrant Flow Into Crete and Gavdos

© Adobe Stock/Porcupen

Greece will deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from arriving at its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.Mitsotakis did not elaborate on the role of the vessels or explain what they would do, but said the move would be in coordination with Libyan authorities and the rest of the European forces operating in the area.Sea arrivals from northeastern Libya of migrants trying to cross to Europe mainly from the Middle East and North Africa…

26 Mar 2025

thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Ulstein Collaborate on Frigates for the Royal Norwegian Navy

thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Ulstein Verft signed a Letter of Intent for joint efforts to deliver the next advanced frigates to the Royal Norwegian Navy. Credit: Ulstein

At the Undersea Defence Technology conference, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Ulstein Verft signed a Letter of Intent for joint efforts to deliver the next advanced frigates to the Royal Norwegian Navy.The 2024 Fleet Plan outlines that Norway will acquire five or six frigates to replace the Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. Potential candidates include the British Type 26, the German F127, the American Constellation-class, and the French FDI.In the event of a contract award for thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Ulstein Verft…

10 Dec 2023

French Warship Shoots Down Two Drones Coming from Yemen

© Wojciech Wrzesień / Adobe Stock

A French warship operating in the Red Sea has shot down two drones that were launched at it from the Yemen coast, the defence ministry said on Sunday.It said the multipurpose frigate Languedoc had intercepted and destroyed a first drone at around 9:30 p.m. local French time on Saturday, and a second one around 11:30 p.m.

27 Jan 2020

Fincantieri Launches Emilio Bianchi

Italian Shipbuilding Company Fincantieri has officially launched the "Emilio Bianchi" frigate, the tenth and last FREMM (Multi Mission European Frigates) vessel at the integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso (Genoa).The ship has been launched with the combat system and platform equipment already installed onboard and fully integrated. She will now be moved to the Fincantieri‘s shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia) where, within next June, sea trials will start to test her performances.The ship will be delivered to the Italian Navy in March 2020, after the completion of the last outfitting activities.The 10 vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri…

25 Oct 2019

Naval Group Cuts Steel for First FDI Frigate

French industrial group specialized in naval defense Naval Group held a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction on the first-in-class vessel, the French Navy's first defense and intervention frigate (FDI)  that is natively protected against cyber threats.The ceremony was led in the presence of the Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the Head of the French Armament Directorate (DGA) Délégué général pour l’Armement, Joël Barre, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy Christophe Prazuck, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy Nikolaos.Sylvain Perrier, Naval Group Director of the FDI program declared during this event: “Today, after the successful completion of the initial studies and development phases, we are proud, to reach this first industrial milestone.

15 Aug 2019

First Steel Cut for HMS Cardiff

The first steel to be used in Britain's HMS Cardiff, an anti-submarine frigate, was ceremonially cut at BAE Systems' shipyard at Govan, Scotland."We have cut steel for the second Type 26 Global Combat Ship, HMS CARDIFF, marking an important milestone in the program to deliver the most advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability to the Royal Navy," said a press release from the British multinational defence company.BAE Systems employees and representatives from the Royal Navy, Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Minister for Defence Procurement, performed the official duties; setting the plasma cutting machine to work on a plate of steel that will form part of the unit that holds vital fuel stores for the ship, it said.The company has designed and built the Type 26 Global Combat Ship in Glasgow.

19 Jul 2019

Operation Atalanta Welcomes ESPS Canarias

European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia officially welcomed the ESPS Canarias as she began her most recent deployment with Operation Atalanta.The ESPS Canarias will sail with Operation Atalanta alongside the ITS Marceglia from the end of July 2019 until early November 2019, countering piracy and monitoring fishing activity off the Somali coast.Spain continues to show its commitment to the defense of international rights in the Area of Operations and has contributed naval assets, air assets and personnel to Operation Atalanta since its inception in 2008.The frigate “Canarias” (F-86) is the sixth and last unit of those which make up the 41st Squadron of Escorts class, “Santa María.” She was delivered to the Spanish Navy in December 1994.

02 Jun 2019

Farewell to Carlo Margottini

European Union’s first naval operation Operation Atalanta, launched in 2008 to prevent and deter piracy at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean, said farewell to ITS Carlo Margottini on May 30, 2019.For the past three months, the Italian warship (hull number F592) has worked alongside the ESPS Navarra, countering piracy and monitoring fishing activities off the coast of Somalia. Previously, the ITS Carlo Margottini sailed with EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta from 5 April to 6 August 2018.The frigate ITS Carlo Margottini is the third ship of the Bergamini Class, part of the French-Italian program FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigates)…

24 Apr 2019

Naval Group Launches FREMM Alsace

Naval Group has launched the seventh multi-mission FREMM frigate for the French Navy from a specialist facility in Lorient.Known as Alsace, the vessel is the first of the two air defence frigates under the FREMM programme  – Multi-Mission European Frigates – for the French Navy and the ninth multi-missions FREMM frigate.Thirteen months after the keel laying of the first block, the FREMM DA Alsace is released from the construction form of the Naval Group site of Lorient. Ninth multi-missions FREMM frigate, it is also the seventh one for the French Navy, ordered by the OCCAr on behalf of the DGA..In order to answer the operational requirements…