Twenty-three Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) received a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI during a visit to Rome Jan. 18. The group traveled from Naples to Rome to attend Pope Benedict’s weekly Wednesday general audience at Vatican City. The pope wel
Russia and NATO on Jan 18 approved ‘road map’ for cooperation in anti-piracy and counter-terrorism till 2014, said General of the Army Nikolai Makarov at the summary briefing after NATO-Russia Council (NRC) convened at the chief-of-staff level. “We must understand actions of each country. Today we h
Sailors and Marines aboard multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) enjoyed a Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) tour to the Rock of Gibraltar during a port visit to Rota, Spain, Jan. 17. After over 300 days deployed from their homeport of Norfolk, Va., Bataan service members apprec
Commander of Pacific Fleet (PF) anti-piracy task unit consisting of large ASW ship Admiral Tributs, tanker Pechenga, and seagoing rescue tug MB-37 Capt 1 rank Ildar Akhmerov on Jan 17 hosted commander of NATO Operation Ocean Shield Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun (Turkey) on board Admiral Tributs, rep
This is the first time a Type 45 destroyer – the most advanced warship in Britain’s arsenal – has appeared in the shadow of the Rock, one of the world’s iconic natural sights. On her maiden deployment, HMS Daring made her debut in Gibraltar – the Fleet’s traditional refuge, 1,000 miles from the moth
Visit of Russian Navy’s carrier group led by aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov to Syrian port Tartus was carried out with the view to replenish supplies, said General of the Army Nikolai Makarov on Jan 18 at the briefing after NATO-Russia Council. “The question about Russian carrier group
Sailors and Marines from USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) volunteered at a monastery in Jerez De La Frontera during a port visit to Rota, Spain Jan. 17. More than 30 volunteers went to the “La Cartuja” Our Lady of the Defense monastery and assisted with yard work and minor renovations to the chapel and livin
Multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) hosted French aviators and engineers interested in the capabilities of the MV-22 Osprey Jan. 14. A small group of French aviators and aircraft specialists flew out to USS Bataan while the ship was transiting the Strait of Bonifacio in order to
Warships of Russian Navy will be re-equipped with new gyrocompasses till 2018; they will bring navigation security to advanced level, said a spokesman for the Navy on Jan 16 at press conference. “Experimental prototypes of those systems have been effectively tested on ships and will be commissioned
Deployed Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) concluded a four-day port visit in Valetta, Malta, Jan. 16. The crew hosted a dinner reception aboard the ship Jan. 13, assisted with refurbishing a public park Jan. 14, and enjoyed tours and time off around
A few hours after transiting the Strait of Messina, multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) welcomed an Italian AV-8B Harrier on board Jan. 13. Bataan will assist in transporting the Italian Harrier, assigned to the Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati “Wolves” based in Grottaglia, Italy, to the d
Sailors from tanker RFA Wave Knight saved all ten people aboard a stricken pleasure craft off Oman in a dramatic night-time rescue. The 70ft Princess Melisa was taking on water and in danger of capsizing in the northern Arabian Sea when the auxiliary came to her aid. All ten souls aboard her were pl
BPC Dixmude, the third Mistral-class force projection and command vessel for the French Navy, has been delivered to the French defence procurement agency (DGA) three months ahead of the initial contract schedule. The DGA took formal delivery of the ship on 3 January 2012. This success is the result
KONGSBERG has signed a contract for supply of the MSI-90U Mk 2 Combat Management System (CMS) to the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Ula class submarines. This contract is made between the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation and KONGSBERG. The contract value is approx. 200 MNOK. KONGSBERG has for 40 yea
