New proposals could save British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds by changing the rules which govern how UK MOD contracts are awarded. The proposals to reform single source procurement regulations, set out by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond on June 10, form part of the government’s Better D
Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset arrived in the Isles of Scilly over the weekend to support the islands’ 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Atlantic and to reaffirm relations. Whilst anchored in St Mary’s Roads the ship welcomed more than 500 islanders and tourists on board from Fri
Officer Cadets under training at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) have been given an insight into the Royal Navy’s Mine Clearance Diving branch during a visit to the College by the Southern Diving Unit One (SDU1). The Unit, based in Plymouth, gave the Cadets a brief on their role in bomb disposa
HMS Dragon helped shepherd a gigantic gas tanker through one of the world’s most important ‘choke points’ during an exercise to hone protecting sea trade. The Type 45 destroyer joined forces with other Royal Navy and US Navy vessels, escorting the 130,000-tonne tanker through the narrows between the
Sandown class mine hunter HMS Penzance has left Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard with enhanced operational capability, sustainability and habitability standards, following a successful six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)) by Babcock. The support period was completed under the Surface Ship Support All
Royal Naval families were treated to a day at sea by the grateful crew of the Plymouth-based amphibious ship HMS Bulwark. The Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship, at high readiness to deploy anywhere in the world at very short notice, took a short break from tasking welcome the families of her ship’s compan
On June 5th Spanish F-100 frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ departed from her home port in Ferrol and headed for Aksaz (Turkey), where she is scheduled to arrive on the 15th to become command ship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2) in the Mediterranean. On her way to Aksaz the ‘Blas de Lezo’ will [
Russian Navy to Recommission Three Submarines by 2014 Three nuclear submarines of the Russian Navy currently under maintenance will be recommissioned by 2014, a Navy spokesman told journalists. The K-410 Smolensk cruise missile submarine, which is undergoing repairs since 2011, will resume its servi
Portsmouth based Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster has arrived in Bermuda – her first stop on a six month deployment to the North Atlantic and Caribbean. Upon arrival she joined RFA Wave Knight as part of the Atlantic Patrol Taskforce (North) which provides Humanitarian aid and Disaster relief support t
The Royal Netherlands Navy is on standby again to provide emergency assistance in the event of hurricanes, according to Dutch Defense Ministry. The Atlantic hurricane season, which began on 1st June, is the period when hurricanes usually form in the Atlantic Ocean. There have been several storms ove
Work has been completed on schedule in preparation for the installation by Babcock of a first of class state-of-the-art Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) on HMS Ocean. This represents a significant proportion of the vessel’s current upgrade package and is an integral part of the 15 month overhaul programme
Survey ship HMS Echo has picked up the baton where her sister Enterprise left off to begin her second 18-month deployment in three years. She left Falmouth on Monday – as Enterprise was returning to Plymouth – and will spend the next year and a half updating charts of the Mediterranean, Red Sea and
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Gold Rover, a Small Fleet Tanker, has returned to Plymouth today after nearly two years on deployment keeping warships on station at sea. The ship has travelled 91,860 nautical miles since leaving Portland in Dorset in August 2011 and racked up 7,789 man-hours on watch while re
Tens of thousands of people gathered along the River Mersey in Liverpool as part of a weekend of events commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Atlantic, including a spectacular flypast of Fleet Air Arm aircraft from RNAS Culdrose and Yeovilton. A Service of remembrance attended by Her R
