The contract that KONGSBERG announced on 7 December 2010 with the Polish Ministry of Defence for additional NSMs (Naval Strike Missiles) has been approved. This contract is an extension to the basic contract, which was signed on 30 December 2008. Compared with the press release published in December 2010, the scope and value of the contract has increased and the order for MNOK 712 will be booked in Q4 2011.

Due to budgetary constraints, the Israeli Navy has scrapped plans to purchase two next-generation LCS vessels and is instead looking to increase its fleet with smaller vessels. The Israeli Navy had originally decided to purchase the US Navy’s littoral combat ship, under development by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, but backed away from the deal after the price soared.

Northern Fleet (NF) aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov on Dec 23 passed Gibraltar Strait and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Other ships of the carrier strike group passed the strait few hours earlier.

Russian Navy command made a decision not to purchase Project 12322 Zubr small-size air-cushion landing ships, reports Izvestiya referring to a source in Navy Main HQ.

The U.S Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $191.3 million contract modification to continue concept studies, engineering and design of a Common Missile Compartment for the United Kingdom’s Successor ballistic-missile submarine and the U.S. Ohio replacement submarine. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

Iran will launch 10 days of naval drills from Saturday around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route, media said, after a rumour earlier this month that it planned to close the waterway. "Our naval drill will begin from 24 December lasting 10 days covering east of Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to the Gulf of Aden", navy commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Fars news agency.

On December 14th French Navy Horizon-class Air Defense Destroyer "Forbin" (D620) and US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer "USS Ramage" (DDG 61) met in the Mediterranean sea (off Lebanon) to conduct several training maneuvers.

China's aircraft carrier set off for its third sea trials yesterday with experts saying they may involve the first tests of aircraft landing and taking off. The Ministry of National Defense said previously that the carrier had completed all refitting and testing work as scheduled and the following sea trials would be for scientific research and experiments.

The hulls of the third and fourth Mistral type French helicopter carrier, command and landing ship purchased by Russia will be built by Russian shipyard Sevmach in Severodvinsk (north), announced Wednesday the Russian Minister of Defense Serdyukov Alexander.

As we mentionned in October Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering signed a contract to build three submarines for the Indonesian navy on Tuesday. The contract calls for DSME to build three 1,400-ton submarines for the Indonesian navy for a total of $1.1 billion, making the contract the largest single defense contract to be awarded to a Korean firm.

Operational in France since February 2008, the MU90 is intended to be deployed by aircraft and warships such as Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, Lynx helicopters, frigates and Horizon destroyers for current platforms. MU90 torpedoes will ultimately be deployed by CaÏman helicopters (NH90) and FREMM.

According to the operational training plan for 2011, the Air Force and Air Defense on Tuesday conducted a live fire demonstration with the participation of formations of Air Force fighters, fighter bombers, fire support helicopters and the Air Defense formations. The demonstration was aimed at testing the combat capability and readiness of the Air Force and Air Defense to confront any possible aggression that might target Syria's land and airspace.

The Indian naval designers have been working on cutting edge ships of the future. CNN-IBN caught up with naval experts at the President's Fleet Review to find out what the Indian navy fleet will look like, 10 years from now. The Indian Navy will have a three hulled ship or the Trimaran virtually invisible to the enemy radar because of its stealth design. Its deck gun and missiles have been concealed in every respect.

Indian Navy's diesel electric submarine INS Sindhurakshak being modernized by Zvezdochka shipyard (Severodvinsk, Russia) will be delivered to the orderer in the second half of 2012, reports the yard's press service on Dec 19.

DCNS today mated the first hull sections of SSN Duguay-Trouin, the second Barracuda-type nuclear-powered attack submarine ordered in June 2009 by defence procurement agency DGA for the French Navy. This is a major milestone in the construction of the second-of-type SSN’s pressure hull. Between 2017 and 2027 six Barracudas will replace the six Rubis/Améthyste-class boats currently in service.

Israel will boost its long-arm strategic capabilities with the reinstatement of one of its Dolphin class submarines that underwent an unprecedented structural overhaul. The submarine, one of three currently in the navy, arrived in Israel in 1999 and is the first to undergo the mid-life renovation. The Israeli submarines, which were purchased from Germany, have an expected lifespan of 30 years.

Photographs of what is purported to be China’s first aircraft carrier has renewed speculation about its military intentions, according to news reports. U.S. satellite imaging firm Digital Globe said Wednesday on its website that it had captured an image that appears to be the Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag during drills in the Yellow Sea.

A nuclear submarine leased from Russia is all set to join the Indian Navy in early 2012. Official sources in New Delhi confirmed today that a Nerpa class nuclear submarine leased for 10 years by the Indian Navy will leave Russian shores by end of the month. The confirmation of this long-speculated development came hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached Moscow to attend the 12th bilateral Indo-Russian summit with President Dimitri Medvedev.

Taiwan has all but given up on acquiring diesel-electric submarines from the US and is expected to embark on a domestic program with assistance from abroad, a leading defense analyst told the Taipei Times. Longstanding plans to augment Taiwan’s small and aging submarine fleet gained momentum in 2001, when the administration of US president George W. Bush offered to provide eight diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan for about US$12 billion.

The Royal Australian Navy now has enhanced amphibious warfare capability with the commissioning in Fremantle on December 13 2011 of Australia’s newest warship, the Bay Class Landing Ship HMAS Choules.

Iran plans to launch a maneuver that will close down the Hormuz strait, a member of Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Parviz Sururi said, ISNA reported.

The 98 meters long SIGMA class frigate, the second frigate built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for the Royal Moroccan Navy, completed her Sea Acceptance Trials successfully.

The Brazilian Navy could soon announce the purchase of offshore patrol vessels to BAE Systems. These three vessels built for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guards were ordered in 2007 and then turned down in 2010 after a change of government. The Brazilian Navy would also buy an optional five extra vessels of the same type.

INTERFAX.RU - "Rosoboronexport" and Gorky Zelenodolsk plant successfully completed a contract to supply two "Gepard" ships to Vietnam and signed another contract for two such ships.

On December 8, 2011, on the the Lanvéoc Poulmic (Brittany) naval aviation base, the operational implementation of the NH90 helicopter was made official. The new and inovative helicopter is now in service and represents a profound change of the air component of the French Navy.