HMS Albion, the Royal Navy’s recently refurbished amphibious assault ship, deployed on Tuesday to become flagsip of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). The ship sailed from Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth and will operate in the Mediterranean for five months. Captain Tim Neild, HMS Albion com
Finland is looking to acquire a total of $730 million worth of US-built missiles for its future multi-role corvettes and for the upgrade of its Hamina-class missile boats. The US State Department approved the possible sale on Monday, which, if realized, would be the first time Finland has bought eit
Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has contracted Safran to deliver its Sigma 40 inertial navigation units and the associated computers to modernize the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Walrus-class submarines. “We chose Safran Electronics & Defense because we have great confidence in their long expe
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth welcomed Chinook helicopters on board for the first time as she got underway from Portsmouth for her next round of trials. HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed from Portsmouth on February 2 for the first time since being officially commissioned into the Royal
The soon-to-be-decommissioned Royal Navy fleet flagship HMS Ocean arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base on February 2 on a farewell visit. The helicopter carrier and assault ship arrived just after dawn to pay a visit to the city before returning to her homeport of Devonport, Plymouth for the final time
After spending four years in mothballs and another two undergoing a £90m refit, the Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Albion is deploying early next week to become the flagship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2. “It is a huge privilege for us to fly the flag of the NATO task group commander
A new Royal Navy small survey vessel that will replace the recently decommissioned HMSML Gleaner will be named HMS Magpie, Royal Navy First Sea Lord Admiral Philip Jones announced. The last HMS Magpie was commanded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in Malta in the early 1950s. Motor Survey launch Magpie
Italian Navy amphibious ship ITS San Giusto took over as flagship of the EU NAVFOR operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea relieving auxiliary ship ITS Etna. Etna left the mission after almost two months of operations fighting human trafficking and smuggling networks. During her time deployed to t
Warships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) will enter the Black Sea to join their mine countermeasure countermeasure counterparts already operating in the region. After SNMG2 ships from the UK and Turkey enter the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, they are scheduled to join Standing NATO
The Belgian government on Friday, January 26, decided to give the department of defense its green light for the acquisition of six new mine countermeasure vessels. The order will be placed jointly with the Netherlands Navy which will acquire an identical number of MCM ships. In addition to mine coun
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Cardigan Bay hosted personnel from the US and Royal Navy for exercise Azraq Serpent 18 (AS18). The five-day exercise started January 14 and was aimed at developing interoperability between the two partners across the medical domain in the US 5th fleet area of operations. T
Looking for new technologies to improve the operation of unmanned underwater vehicles, the Royal Navy used the Maritime Enterprise Innovation Scotland Conference (MEISC) to set challenges for developers. During the conference, held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on January 24, two speci
France, Italy and the United Kingdom have renewed an in-service support contract with Eurosam related to the upkeep of the land and naval systems in service with the three countries. The contract extension was awarded to Eurosam, a consortium between MBDA and Thales, by the European Organisation for
RFA Tideforce, the final of four Tide-class tankers being built for the UK in South Korea, was named on January 24 in a ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea. The ceremony was attended by Royal Marine General Gordon Messenger, British ambassador to Republic
