Funding was made available in July 1989 and the contract became effective in January 1990, but in November it was cancelled because of funding pressures in the period leading up to the 1991 Gulf War. The programme was revived with German funding in April 1991, and then in July 1994 Israel exercised its option for a third boat of the same class.

The first steel for the three boats was cut in April 1992, and the boats were laid down in October 1994, April 1995 and December 1996 for completion in July 1999, November 1999 and July 2000 as the Dolphin, Leviathan and Tekuma.

The three boats are similar to the U-212 class except for internal revisions to permit the incorporation of a wet and dry compartment so that underwater swimmers can leave and re-enter the boat. It is also likely that the boats are fitted with the Triten anti-helicopter SAM system.

Primary anti ... კითხვის გაგრძელება »

The Vanguard class is the largest submarine type ever constructed in the UK, and the third largest type of vessel in Royal Navy service. However, it is cloaked in tight secrecy. Despite the ending of the Cold War and the downgrading of its strategic mission, details on Vanguard weapon systems and patrols are still highly classified.

All four of the boats, HMS Vanguard, HMS Victorious, HMS Vigilant and HMS Vengeance, were built by Vickers Submarine Engineering Limited (now BAE Systems Marine) at its dockyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Such was their size that a special production facility, the Devonshire Dock Hall, had to be constructed. The boat's large hull was prompted by the Trident D5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), of which it can deploy 16. However, the vessels patrol with a smaller complement of crew than that of the previous Resolution class (132 as opposed to 149).

The first major transition from Polaris to Trident occurred in 1996, when HMS Victorious was deployed on patrol with a complement of Trident SLBMs. Trident has since become the sole component of the UK's nuclear deterrent, following the decommiss ... კითხვის გაგრძელება »

Some 16 of the class were completed between 1971 and 1991 by three yards (Luda, Shanghai and Dalian), and one unit was scrapped after an explosion of Zanijiang in August 1978. The ships have possessed an underway replenishment capability since the early 1980s, but have poor command and control facilities. In 1987, Jinan was refitted with a hangar and flight platform aft for two Z-9A helicopters, replacing the after gun mountings and the depth-charge throwers, to become the sole Luda II-class trials vessel.

China has made several attempts to obtain Western armament and electronics for these ships, but almost all of these failed. The sole exceptions are the French Crotale octuple launcher for the HQ-7 SAM (and associated radar) in Kaifeng, Dalia ... კითხვის გაგრძელება »

The Palletized Load System comes in two mission configurations - the M1074 and the M1075. The M1074 is fitted with a crane, to support forward deployed field artillery units. The M1075 is used in conjunction with the M1076 trailer, but does not have the material handling crane.

These highly mobile vehicles perform long range hauling, unit resupply and other mission. The PLS utilizes a variety of flatracks. A standard sideless flatrack is used to transport pallets of ammunition. This system is a key transportation component of the ammunition distribution. Vehicle can also transport shelters, containers, fuel racks or engineering mission modules simply by changing pallets. It uses a hydraulic load handling system, which loads and unloads flatracks or containers rapidly. These are the standard NATO flatracks, interchangeable between PLS and HEMTT-LHS, as well as comparable British, German and French systems.

The prime mover has a payload capacity of 16 500 kg. The same amoun ... კითხვის გაგრძელება »