Vippon’s SOFTMOUNT: Increasing the lethality of Hellenic Navy and Hellenic Coast Guard vessels easily and with very low cost

Written by D-Mitch

Firing an MG3 installed on a Softmount

One of the exhibits at DEFEA 2021 that unfortunately did not receive the proper attention from the Greek Press, was the SOFTMOUNT lightweight mounts for machine guns of the Danish Rubtec AS. The SOFTMOUNT was presented in Greece in collaboration with the Greek company Vippon SA. Vippon is internationally known as a supplier of rubberized track parts and track systems for main battle tanks and tracked vehicles, while in recent years it has expanded its activities by participating in various systems development and manufacturing clusters as a supplier of various components and spareparts. In relation to the mounts, Vippon has undertaken their presentation to the Armed Forces of Greece and Cyprus, as well as the domestic production of their components, their final assembly-installation as well as their subsequent support in terms of spare parts and maintenance.

PHOTO GALLERY #37: Absalon and Iver Huidfeldt, frigates of the Royal Danish Navy

Absalon and Iver Huidfeldt, frigates of the Royal Danish Navy

This is another photo gallery from my visit to Kiel in 2019, on the first weekend of the 137th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Among the visiting ships, were two Royal Danish Navy frigates, the lead ship of the Absalon class ASW frigates HDMS Absalon (L16, now F341) and the lead ship of the Iver Huitfeldt class AAW frigates HDMS Iver Huidfeldt (F361)! This was a quite rare moment to see both lead ships of the current Danish frigate classes together.

PHOTO GALLERY #28: Thetis, multi-mission ocean patrol vessel of the Royal Danish Navy

HDMS Thetis of the Royal Danish Navy

Another gallery of photos which were taken during my visit to Kiel, on 21st and 22th of June, the first days of the 137th Kiel Week (see previous post about Kieler Woche). One of the many visiting warships that had returned from the NATO BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) Exercise, was Thetis, the lead ship of the Thetis class multi-mission ocean patrol vessels of the Royal Danish Navy. The class comprises four ships, all built and commissioned in the early 1990s. The ships' tasks are mainly maintenance of sovereignty, search and rescue, fishery inspection and support to local authorities. The ships each have double-skinned ice-reinforced hulls so that the ships can break through 80 centimeters (31 in) of solid ice. The ships of the class have receive several upgrades lately, including a new Scanter radar on a reconverted mast, new electronics and a reconverted hangar that accommodates RHIBs in the enclosed deck. The HDMS Thetis serves as staff ship for the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group One (SNMCMG1). It was a good opportunity for visitors to admire in person the latest Saab MCM equipment in service with the Royal Danish Navy. The 112-meter Thetis was laid down in October 1988 by Svendborg Skibsværft launched in July 1989 and commissioned on July 1, 1991. Enjoy photos! 

FLEETS #8: Turkish Navy, Royal Danish Navy and Hellenic Navy today

Written by D-Mitch

This is the fifth article about various countries' navies today. In these articles, I briefly describe a country's naval fleet by reporting the ships in each type/category of warships and by providing a nice image where all the types of warships are illustrated and the units of its class are reported. I include the vessels that will enter in service this year and I have excluded those that are about to be decommissioned. I deliberately excluded many classes of auxiliary ships; those that they have "0" defence capacity and those that have secondary roles such as hydrographic survey ships, tugs, depollution vessels and training ships.