NEWS
Advanced hullforms First SWATH for
Latvia named The first SWATH@A&R patrol boat was formally named at Abeking & Rasmussen Shipyard in Lemwerder in Germany in January. Skrunda is the first of a series of five 25m
SWATH@A&R patrol boats being built in collabora- tion with Riga Shipyard for the Estonian Navy. Te remaining vessels are being built in Riga. Te new vessels have a modular mission bay forward
of the bridge which can accommodate a variety of mission modules. Te Estonian Navy selected a SWATH hullform
because of the high level of stability this provides. Designed primarily for patrol and surveillance
duties, the patrol boats also have fendering of the type used in SWATH@A&R pilot boats, enabling them to conduct boarding operations at sea.
60,000tonne carriers are being built at the Changxingdao yard in Shanghai. In addition, the circa 58,500tonne former Russian carrier RFS Varyag is being refurbished at Dalian as the Shi Lang and it is believed she will become operational for training in 2011-2012. Te reports state that construction had begun at six
military-affiliated companies and research institutes in Shanghai and other locations. A full-scale model of an aircraſt carrier had been constructed in Wuhan, in central Hubei province, to test radar systems, while preparations to train pilots for landing and taking off aircraſt at sea would be carried out in north-eastern Liaoning and Xian in Shaanxi province. Beijing has kept the plans low-key for fear of causing
friction with China’s neighbours and their appearance, probably based at Sanya, of Hainan Island, will eventu- ally affect the Pacific naval balance-of-power. Te ships will evidently be conventionally powered for the report also calls for a nuclear-powered aircraſt carrier to be made ready by 2020. Meanwhile, European navies are reversing their
carrier plans. For some time senior Russian Navy leaders have been talking about a plan for four new carriers by the end of the next decade. In August 2010, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said that a technical project for an advanced aircraſt carrier would be ready by the end of the year. But the Defence Ministry has now stated: “The
state armaments programme for 2011-2020 does not envision the construction of aircraſt carriers.” Te Ministry lacks funds for such a programme and is restricting activity to design work but may start work in the next 10-year programme. As highlighted in the January 2011 issue of Warship
Skrunda is the first patrol boat with a SWATH hullform. Aircraft carriers China builds as
Russia slips Naval Spyglass reports that the Chinese govern- ment has confirmed that it is planning to build an aircraſt carrier at the same time that the Russians have admitted their plans for four new carriers have slipped by at least a decade. In a report released earlier this year the Chinese
State Oceanic Administration said the decision to build a carrier was taken by the Communist Party’s Central Committee in April 2009. Te ship is part of Beijing’s efforts to make itself a major maritime power and was to have been launched by 2015 but it is reported that she will now be launched a year earlier. There are persistent reports that two 50,000-
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Technology, the United Kingdom has paid off its last fixed-wing operational carrier, HMS Ark Royal, and her sister ship HMS Illustrious, restricted to rotary- wing operations, will go in 2014. Te first of the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers will not be commis- sioned until around the end of this decade or the beginning of the next.
Frigates & destroyers Second Moroccan
frigate launched Te second 98m Multi-Mission Frigate for the Moroccan Navy was launched at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuild- ing in Vlissingen, Te Netherlands on 2 February 2011. Three frigates are under construction for the
Moroccan Navy at the yard. Te first, a 105m vessel, was launched in July 2010. Te third frigate, also a 98m vessel, is due to be
launched at the end of 2011. Warship Technology March 2011
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