After navigating the Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb strait, French frigate FS Courbet has joined EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The French frigate replaces the FS Surcouf, who has been operating within the EU counter-piracy operation since last December. On Monday 18 February
A group of 15 Sailors from the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) joined students from Oak Park Elementary School and Music Conservatory in San Diego to celebrate Presidents Day at the school, Feb. 19. Although a day after the actual federal holiday, Makin Island’s ceremonial color gua
Rear Adm. David F. Steindl relieved Rear Adm. T. K. Shannon as commander, Carrier Strike Group One (CSG-1) during a change of command ceremony aboard aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Feb. 21. Shannon, who assumed command of CSG-1 Nov. 18, 2011, led the strike group through a successful Wes
The U.S. Navy delivered two more 35-meter patrol boats (PB-310 and PB-311) to the Iraqi navy at the Umm Qasr naval facility in Iraq, Feb. 17, after each craft successfully completed reactivation in Bahrain. These are the 10th and 11th vessels in the 12-boat procurement which will assist in reconstit
A Naval patrol craft attached to the Northern Naval Command took into custody 2 persons with 123.4 kilograms of illegal tobacco in the seas north of Kankasanthurei 20th February 2013. They had attempted to smuggle in 81 kilograms of Hans tobacco (9,000 packets, each containing 09 grams) and 42.4 kil
Three Royal Thailand Navy (RTN) ships arrived safely at the Royal Brunei Navy Muara Naval Base yesterday morning (February 21). The contingent is led by Rear Admiral Sucheep Whoungmaitree, Academic Dean of the Academic Branch Royal Thai Naval Academy. He is accompanied by the Commanding Officers of
The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), with nearly 4,500 Sailors, deployed from Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Station Mayport, Fla., Feb. 21, to support operations in the U.S. Navy’s 5th and 6th Fleets. The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), commanded by Capt. Marcus A. Hit
A fleet membered by two Chinese marine surveillance vessels, Haijian 84 and Haijian 72, set sail for the South China Sea for regular patrol missions aimed at protecting the country’s territorial waters, Xinhua reports citing the Chinese State Oceanic Administration (SOA). Accordingly the task force
On February 15th 2013, the maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ left Cartagena (Murcia) to integrate in Operation ‘Atalanta’. The Maritime Action Admiral delivered a farewell speech and wished the crew every success in the fulfillment of the mission. After a period of intense training, the patrol boat ‘Rayo’
As part of the Fisheries Monitoring Plan for 2013, the offshore patrol boat ‘Tarifa’ will participate in the International Joint Deployment Plan in the Bay of Biscay for the deep sea fishing campaign in the northeastern Atlantic. Several ships and aircraft from different nations will deploy in the a
On February 13, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, representing Republicans on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, met at the Pentagon with the Navy’s top official for shipbuilding, Sean Stackley, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, to discuss the impact of d
As part of its ongoing support contract to Navy Command Finland, Malvern based defence and security specialist, 3SDL, provided technical support to the Finnish Navy during the recent week long Sea Acceptance Testing onboard the 1,450 ton Minelayer FNS Uusimaa. The complex series of tests involving L
Rolls-Royce marked the beginning of construction of its Core Manufacturing Facility at Raynesway, Derby on February 20 with a ground-breaking ceremony conducted by Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Mathews, Ministry of Defence (MoD). The new facility, which will be a phased-build programme, will replace exist
Commander Naval Air Forces awarded the 2012 Pacific Fleet Battle Efficiency (“E”) award to the “Golden Hawks” Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 112 for the VAW Carrier Air Wing (CVW) category, Feb. 12. The aviation Battle “E” is the Navy’s top performance award presented to the squadron in each
