Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
With less than a week to go before they arrive back in the UK, HMS Bulwark’s embarked Royal Marines put on a showstopper by storming a beach in Gibraltar. Exercise Sea Snake saw commandos from Charlie Company 40 Commando and 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (ASRM) land on East Beach in Gibraltar for
Whilst deployed on operations in the Middle East, HMS Defender’s helicopter Miss Adventure has celebrated her 35th birthday. The Westland Lynx Mk 8 helicopter normally based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovil has been embarked on the fifth Type 45 Destroyer since the Ship departed Portsmouth at the b
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today visited Defence facilities in Plymouth and Devonport, meeting key Royal Navy personnel and engaging with city officials and industrial partners over forthcoming investment plans to transform part of the naval base for commercial use. The visit marks a number of
On Sunday 7 December Djiboutian Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed awarded Commander Bernard Baron (French Navy) the rank and dignity of Officer of the National Order of 27th of June. Commander Baron was presented with the award for his ‘outstanding service and assistance given to the Djibouti
The Royal Navy’s drug busting warship HMS Argyll is heading home for Christmas having dealt another blow to the drugs trade in the North Atlantic. The frigate has been deployed for six months and the final nine weeks of this have been spent on highly successful counter narcotics operations in the Ca
The US is increasing its military presence in Europe by adding two more ballistic missile ships to its Rota Naval Base in Spain. These are the first American ships home-ported here since Polaris-missile submarines left in the 1970s, U.S. base officials said. Guarding Against Missile Attack, Pirates
The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, KCB OBE, visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with Commander MARCOM Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, CBE, and discuss relevant developments in the maritime domain with the MARCOM command staff. Discussion a
Vard Holdings Limited, a designer and shipbuilder of offshore and specialized vessels, held a naming ceremony for Norway’s new surveillance vessel “Marjata” at Vard Langsten. The vessel was contracted by the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation in 2011 and will be operated by the Norwegian Intel
Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) to provide new sensor systems for two A26-type submarines and two Gotland-class submarines. The contract is valued at SEK 420 million (USD 55,5 million). This order is one of the terms incl
QinetiQ has secured a contract to provide support for the testing and acceptance trials for Artful, the third and latest Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine of the Royal Navy. QinetiQ will support four separate work packages addressing a variety of trials to support Acoustic, Magnetic signatures,
After a period of three years in extended readiness, HMS Albion is finally turning into the nation’s future flagship. The assault ship has been in extended readiness since 2011 in her home base of Devonport, while her sister HMS Bulwark – currently leading the Royal Navy’s annual amphibious Cougar d
Rear Admiral Rando visited Brigadier-General Philippe Montocchio, the Commander of French Forces in Djibouti. They both discussed the current piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden. During the meeting Rear Admiral Rando said: A lot has been done, but we have to maintain focus as piracy is not yet erad
Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) departed Naval Station Mayport Dec. 4 to relieve USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) later this month as the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 flagship and to support theater security cooperation efforts in Europe. The crew recently participated in Join
