On 12 July 2006, the second of France's Forbin-class guided-missile destroyers, Chevalier Paul (named for the naval hero better known in the United States as John Paul Jones), was launched at DCN's Lorient shipyard. The destroyer, shown here under construction, is expected to enter service in December 2008. Older sister and namesake of the class, the Forbin, is expected to commission in January of the same year. In addition to the two built in France, Italy is constructing two similar warships, the Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio. The international program for these warships began in 1991 with the support of Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. Dubbed the Horizon project, the United Kingdom withdrew from the program in 1999, favoring to build its own Daring-class destroyers, while Italy and France brought the Horizon project to fruition.
In October 2006, Indonesia announced the decision to purchase six non-nuclear-powered submarines from Russia. No financial details have yet been announced for the order, and the submarines, two Amur 950-class and four Kilo-class boats, are not expected to enter service for several years. The Amur 950 design, which measures roughly 56-meters in length and displaces about 1,300 tons submerged, is actually a smaller export variant of the Russian Lada class. The winning submarine designs were competing against very capable, albeit more expensive, western European-designed Type 214 and Scorpène-class boats. If the deal comes to pass, it would mark the first sale of the Amur 950 design and yet another export success for the venerable Kilo-class, one of which is pictured here in Russian service.
On 6 August 2006, the Danish warship Sværdfisken, a Flyvefisken-class (Stanflex 300) multifunctional patrol craft, was decommissioned after less than 15 years of active service. Launched in 1991, the 450-ton (full load) vessel entered service in February 1993 but has most recently been laid up awaiting decommissioning because of budget cuts. Three sisters, Flyvefisken, Hajen, and Lommen, were also decommissioned earlier in the year and transferred unarmed to Lithuania. The class was built to an interesting design and is convertible to perform antiship, antisubmarine, and patrol duties, as well as being configurable to work as minesweepers, fast minelayers, survey ships, oceanographic research ships, buoy tenders, and fishery protection ships, among other missions. Armament fits for the class varied depending on the mission, but all ships carry a single 76-mm dual-purpose gun and are capable of carrying Harpoon antiship missiles, Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, and mines. Crew size varies depending on mission requirements and, although the class has accommodations for up to 29, no more than 20 are normally carried. A maximum of ten sister ships, including the Støren, pictured here, will likely remain in service in the immediate future.