Babcock completes Estonian vessel upgrade
Babcock has successfully completed a capability upgrade on the first of three Estonian Navy minehunter vessels at its Rosyth facilities in Fife, Scotland, the company announced on 31 January.
The Sandown-class EML Admiral Cowan minehunter vessel underwent a five month docking period at the shipyard between July and December 2018. The vessel will now return to Estonia before undergoing trials in the North Sea in May to demonstrate its full operational capability.
The installation of an upgraded mission package on the minehunter was carried out under a contract awarded by Thales UK. The mission package included fitting Thales' Sonar 2193, an upgraded navigation system, as well as the Thales M-CUBE C2 system along with several other upgrades.
The second Estonian Navy minehunter vessel, EML Sakala, arrived at the Babcock Rosyth site in December 2018 to undergo the same package of work. This will be followed by EML Ugandi in late spring 2019.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
US Coast Guard enhances Arctic protection with a new Fast Response Cutter
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
-
US Coast Guard announces measures to further implement Force Design 2028 strategy
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
-
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.