Italy has taken command of the four NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2), as well as the prospective flagship ITS AVIERE, from Germany during a scheduled port visit in Catania on Thursday, 19 June 2014. SNMCMG2 visited the port as part of the Group’s deplo
Plymouth based 1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1AGRM) took part in the historic and colourful Ceremony of the Constable’s Dues at the Tower of London on Friday 20 June. The event can be traced back to the 14th century and is related to the Crown’s authority over the City of London. This tradition i
A £70 million contract to support the Royal UK Navy’s Type 45 destroyers will secure more than 100 engineering jobs. The 2-and-a-half-year contract will protect around 100 highly skilled engineering jobs at BAE Systems in Portsmouth, the home port of the Royal Navy’s 6 Type 45 destroyers and futur
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, is being awarded $115,7 million for firm-fixed-price delivery order 4019 against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement. This order provides for non-recurring engineering and program support for the production and delivery of nine MH-60R aircr
Defense Secretary Orders Vessel to Arabian Gulf Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today ordered the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde into the Arabian Gulf, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said. F-100 Frigates Engage in Exercises off Galician Coast The F-100 frigates ‘Álva
Forces participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2014, including the U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship, USS Mount Whitney (LCC20), arrived in Kiel, Germany, June 20 after the successful completion of BALTOPS 2014. “Coming together for BALTOPS was like climbing a mountain, we have come to
South-West based Royal UK Navy warship, HMS Argyll is due to sail today on her latest deployment to the North Atlantic and Caribbean. HMS Argyll’s captain, Commander Paul Hammond: said “As we sail from Plymouth we can reflect on nine months of hard work in preparation for this deployment in which
The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) approaches the German navy replenishment tanker FGS Spessart (A1442) for a replenishment-at-sea while underway for Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2014. Now in its 42nd year, BALTOPS is an annual, multinational exercise with the goal of enhancing ma
The Irish Naval Service vessels L.É SAMUEL BECKETT, L.É. ROISIN and L.É. AOIFE will be conducting exercises off the South Coast of Ireland, as part of a week long fleet assessment by the Naval Service. Some of the tasks involved include a scenario-based Maritime Interdiction Operation which prepar
Lieutenant Commander Zeljko Pekovic has become the second naval officer from Montenegro to serve at the EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters in Northwood, UK. Lieutenant Commander Pekovic will be stationed in the Headquarters until June 2015. Montenegro started providing a military officer to t
Babcock has been awarded a five year contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to support the Weapon Handling and Launch System (WHLS) and Submerged Signal Ejector (SSE) equipment used on all classes of UK in-service submarines, and their associated training rigs. Under the firm priced target a
The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, has announced recently that a new contract to design and manufacture future anti-surface guided weapons (light) (FASGW(L)) missiles will protect more than 60 jobs at the Thales factory in Belfast. The contract will sustain a
The UK Navy’s new helicopter has paid its first visit to HMS Illustrious – dropping in on the veteran carrier during a submarine hunting exercise off Cornwall. Wildcat, which will replace the long-serving Lynx on the front line from next year, touched down on Lusty in the middle of Exercise Deep Blu
The F-100 frigates ‘Álvaro de Bazán’, ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’, ‘Blas de Lezo’ and ‘Méndez Núñez’ from the 31st Escort Squadron have participated in a series of exercises off the Galician coast from the 9th to the 13th of June. The goal was to enhance training on anti-air warfare, operations wit
