Personnel from European, North African and U.S. Naval forces began preparing for the underway segment of Phoenix Express Exercise 2014 (PE14) by standing up the maritime operations center in Sigonella, May 26. Planners from 10 countries have begun tracking ships leaving ports and integrating logis
Last Friday, 23 May 2014, the five NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1) arrived in Riga, along with FGS Elbe, which assumed its new role as flagship for the Group upon Germany’s assumption of command on Monday, May 26. SNMCMG1 is visiting the port as part
The Fleet Air Arm is undergoing a vast programme of transition as all front line aircraft are replaced over the coming years. The Lynx Wildcat Maritime Force (LWMF) at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton is already deep into this transition, successfully introducing the Wildcat Helicopter Mar
UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has delivered a speech at the annual meeting of the Chiefs of European Navies in Portsmouth. During his speech to the Chiefs of European Navies on 23 May, Hammond was clear on the role the addressed audience must play in explaining the importance of Europe’s par
More Ukrainian Ships Pull Out from Crimea The evacuation operation of the Ukrainian Navy ships from the Crimea region resumes as more ships redeploy to other naval bases. Yesterday, May 20th saw the departure of several ships and vessels under the agreed arrangements of the Joint Commission of the R
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) will enter the Black Sea Friday, May 23, to promote peace and stability in the region. Vella Gulf’s mission is to work with NATO allies toward mutual goals, demonstrating the United States’ commitment to strengthening and improvin
The Royal Navy’s Flagship HMS Bulwark has given personnel from the Army and the RAF a taste of life on the ocean wave which ended with a steely display of her amphibious skills. Nearly 350 students, including international officers, from the Advanced Command and Staff Course from all three Service
Earlier this morning, the UK Ministry of Defence sent a military aircraft to join the search and rescue effort for the missing British sailors. The UK is providing military assistance in the search for the four British sailors who went missing last week after their yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki, began
A considerable load has been put on France due to its intention to continue with the construction and sale of Mistral-class ships to Russia. France said that the delivery of two warships to the Russian Navy will not be affected by the current EU sanctions imposed on Russia amid the Ukrainian crisi
Russian and Chinese navy ships have teamed up in a bilateral naval exercise called the Joint Sea-2014. The Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is paying an official visit to Beijing to, inter alia, talk about the long-awaited gas deal between the two countries, joined his Chinese counterpart Xi
Further confirming the trend that tomorrow’s navies will be electrically propelled, GE’s Power Conversion business yesterday announced that it was working with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) in South Korea to provide an electrical power and propulsion system for a Norweg
After a 14-day cruise from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), the training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ called at New York City for the 31st time. The ship sailed through the Hudson River before docking at NY to support the Spanish candidature as non-permanent member of the United Nations Secu
On May 19, Brussels hosted the Senior Level Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defense Reform led by Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The leader of the Ukrainian delegation Andriy Parubiy, Secretary of the National Security and
The evacuation operation of the Ukrainian Navy ships from the Crimea region resumes as more ships redeploy to other naval bases. Yesterday, May 20th saw the departure of several ships and vessels under the agreed arrangements of the Joint Commission of the Representatives of the Ukrainian and Russ
