At the end of June, the Royal Norwegian Navy received delivery of their third Skjold Class FPB vessel. The program is being supplied by a consortium of three contractors: the Norwegian companies Umoe Mandal and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and DCNS, France as the combat system design authority. The vessel is a Surface Effect Ship (SES), of fiberglass/ composite construction built in Norway by Umoe Mandal. The propulsion arrangement is COGAG with a father/son turbine arrangement of Pratt & Whitney ST40M of 2,982 kW (4,000 hp) and ST18M of 1,393 kW (1.894 hp) gas turbines Two diesels are available for slow steaming. The performance is record breaking with a top speed in excess of 60 kn. [More]