A Lynx helicopter embarked on the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Portland carried out one final Sea Skua anti-ship missile firing. Royal Navy will no longer be using the Sea Skua missile as the Lynx helicopters carrying it are set to retire in March. This will leave the Royal Navy with a helicopte
The Royal Navy recently hosted the first Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) conference in Portsmouth headed by Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Ben Key and Commander of UK Maritime Forces Rear Admiral Alex Burton. The UK, with partner nations Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and No
The United Arab Emirates Navy selected French defense technology company Thales to provide improved electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare as well as security and surveillance capabilities to its forces at the 2017 NAVDEX exhibition in Dubai. The UAE Navy also announced a contract for the purcha
Swedish defence and security company Saab announced it has received an order for delivery of the AUV62-AT anti-submarine warfare training system. The company said deliveries would take place during 2017 and 2018 but did not disclose the customer. AUV62-AT was recently displayed and tested in the UK
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel Vigía set sail from Cadiz to conduct a series of activities in Africa as part of the Spanish government’s Defense Diplomacy Plan and a follow-on of the Africa Partnership Station (APS) initiative. These deployments are intended to enhance maritime security and to
Two Royal Navy Merlins have embarked French amphibious assault ship FS Mistral, the lead ship of French Navy task group, for the French annual Jeanne d’Arc deployment. The five-month amphibious deployment will take the force – which includes the frigate Courbet – as far east as Japan and Guam, as fa
The keel for the Irish Navy’s fourth Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel was laid in Babcock’s Appledore shipyard on February 28. Named after Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, the vessel will have pennant number P64. It is being built under a contract signed between the Irish ministry of
Austrian Jagdkommandos, an Austrian Armed Forces’ Special Operations group, will embark German Navy tender ‘Main’ on March 2 to support EU’s counter-smuggling mission in the Mediterranean Sea. An official send-off ceremony for the Jagdkommandos took place in the Roßauer barracks in Vienna on Februar
German Navy’s K130 corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein left her homeport of Warnemünde on February 28 to join her Swedish Navy counterpart for Baltic Sea drills. The Royal Swedish Navy is represented by the Visby-class corvette HMS Härnösand. Sweden is not a NATO member but regularly takes part in exerci
Spanish Navy frigate Reina Sofía (F-84) departed naval base Rota on February 27 to integrate into the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1). During the two and a half-month mission, the Spanish frigate will participate in several training activities with other NATO units, among them exercise Join
A Spanish Navy frigate and an auxiliary oiler left their home port in Ferrol, Spain, last weekend to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in the Mediterranean Sea. Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate Méndez Núñez and oiler AOR Patiño will become part of SNMG2’s Task Unit 02 (TU.02), currently under com
The UK Government, Royal Navy and Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership signed an agreement on February 27 that is expected to bring in more financial opportunities for the locals. Millions of pounds of investment in developing HM Naval Base Clyde as the Royal Navy Submarine Centre of Speci
