The UK defense ministry has issued a tender for the acquisition of Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships which will be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Compared to the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review which confirmed the need for three Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Fleet
A keel-laying ceremony at Russia’s Vympel Shipyard on May 15 marked the construction start of the first of four new Project 21980 (Grachonok-class) anti-terror vessels. The vessels are being constructed under a 2017 contract, signed between Vympel and the National Guard of the Russian Federation. Al
Two Royal Navy Merlin Mk2 helicopters have returned home after two weeks of anti submarine warfare drills in the Norwegian Fjords as part of exercise Rogue Wizards 2018. The helicopters were flown by ‘Flying Sailors’ from the Merlin Training Squadron at RNAS Culdrose. 824 NAS is the unit which train
The first Royal Navy and Air Force F-35B jets are scheduled to fly into their new home at RAF Marham next month, the UK defense minister has announced. Four F-35Bs will arrive in the first tranche of stealth fighters to transfer from the USA to the UK, flying into RAF Marham in East Anglia. The Norf
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Poti, Georgia, on May 14 after concluding their participation in the Romanian-hosted Black Sea exercise Sea Shield 2018. During the four-day port call to Poti, the ships’ crews will join Georgian Border Police for drills aimed at incre
The UK defense secretary is set to announce a £2.5bn investment for new Royal Navy submarines during his visit to BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on Monday. According to the UK defense ministry, the investment includes £1.5bn for the construction of the seventh Astute-class sub
After arriving from France to US early April, French Rafale jets have now joined the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) for a combined Chesapeake 2018 exercise. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) and French Carrier Air Wing (Groupe Aerien Embarque) departed Norfolk May 7
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Mine countermeasure ships and personnel from 15 navies gathered in Tallinn, Estonia, for the start of the international Baltic Sea ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit. The exercise kicks off Friday and is joined by ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) among others. Open
Unite, the UK’s largest union representing defence and shipbuilding workers, backed today’s demand by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the three new Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels to be built in UK shipyards. Government plans to put the £1 billion contract for building the ships out to tender in inter
A multi-lateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise in the Norwegian Sea got underway May 9 as navy assets from five ally countries gathered in Bodo, Norway, for the pre-sail conference. The exercise is hosted by Norway and led by the US Navy. ASW forces from Canada, France, Norway, the United Kin
Turkish Navy minehunter TCG Anamur has discovered historical unexploded ordnance during mine countermeasures drills conducted as part of the Spanish-hosted multinational exercise MINEX 2018. According NATO Maritime Command, the ordnance was discovered by TCG Anamur on 8 May using the ship’s speciali
