Royal Navy pilots flying UK F-35B jets in Cyprus will mark the first time in over a decade UK naval aviators are operating overseas. Two months of training in the eastern Mediterranean is lined up for the men and women of the Lightning Force in preparation for their first spell of training aboard HM
NATO’s Allied Maritime Command hosted a ceremony on the 70th anniversary of the alliance to ceremonially activate a new command called Commander Surface Forces NATO (COMSURFNATO). This April 4 activation is part of NATO’s Command Structure Adaptation (NCS-A) remarking new NATO at its birthday. One o
A Royal Australian Navy task group composed of a helicopter carrier, frigates, and a submarine arrived in India ahead of the start of exercise Ausindex. This is the second time India is hosting the exercise, which was first held in September 2015 at Visakhaptnam. Landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberr
The Royal Navy is set to deploy a large task group to the Baltic Sea for two months of international operations. Amphibious transport dock HMS Albion will spearhead the “Baltic Protector” mission, involving nearly 2,000 British personnel from all three services. The deployment is the first large-sca
Royal Canadian Navy and Spanish Navy frigate assigned to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Odesa, Ukraine on April 1 for a routine port visit. Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto and Spanish frigate ESPS Santa Maria arrived in Odesa after patrolling in the Black Sea with fellow SNMG2 s
The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new diving and hydrographic support vessel has started her journey from Norway to Auckland, New Zealand. Formerly known as offshore support vessel MV Edda Fonn, the vessel was sold by Norway’s Østensjø Rederi to the New Zealand Navy in August 2018. The vessel was modifie
Ships from a number of European countries have started gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, ahead of the Royal Navy-hosted exercise Joint Warrior which kicks off on March 30. A total 35 warships, 5 submarines and 59 aircraft and helicopters from 13 countries are scheduled to take part in this year’s edit
Royal Navy auxiliary landing ship dock RFA Mounts Bay served as the test bed for a mobile US Navy minehunting force during a recent test off the coast of Virginia. The test included helicopters, divers, remote-controlled boats and automated surveying machines and was intended to see whether a task f
The Netherlands’ Defense Material Organization (DMO) procurement agency has awarded Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Den Helder (DSDH) a contract to design, build and deliver a prototype expeditionary survey boat (ESB) for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ESB is to be optimized for rapid environment
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster got underway from Portsmouth to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) for a deployment to northern Europe and the Baltic. The Duke-class frigate is scheduled to conduct exercises within her task group as well as a variety of port visits that wil
The Royal Navy held an official naming ceremony for HMS Tamar, the fourth of overall five new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels being built. The OPV naming ceremony took place in the shipyard in Glasgow where she and her sisters were built. The 90-meter ship is equipped with a 30mm cannon
Ship from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG) 1 and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group One (SNMCMG) 1 completed a scheduled port visit to Plymouth, England, before taking part in an eight-ship maneuver off the UK coast. SNMG-1 and SNMCMG-1 staff took advantage of time in port by having forc
A joint French and British program to develop a new generation of anti-ship missiles has passed the “key review” phase, French missile maker MBDA has announced. The review was completed two years into the FC/ASW (future cruise/anti-ship weapon) concept phase, and was carried out jointly by the UK’s
UK defense contractor BAE Systems announced it has started work on the integration of Meteor air-to-air and SPEAR surface attack missiles on to the UK’s fleet of F-35B fighter jets. As explained by the company, it has received an initial funding award from Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor on th
