Amphibious & Support Ships
Persian Gulf exercise Unified Trident wraps up
Navy ships from Australia, Great Britain, France and the U.S. concluded their participation in the multi-national exercise Unified Trident that was held in the Persian Gulf. More than 15 ships, plus numerous aircraft from the four navies completed many different evolutions from January 31 to Februar
Entire UK submarine fleet to be based in Scotland
All eleven Royal Navy submarines will be based at HMNB Clyde in Scotland from 2020, UK defense secretary Michael Fallon has announced. In addition to this, the UK is also investing near £4 million in the building of a single UK hub for Royal Navy’s submarine service at HMNB Clyde. HM Treasury this w
Italian Navy LHD gas turbine passes factory acceptance test
The first MT30 gas turbine that will be installed on the Italian Navy’s new Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) multi-purpose amphibious vessel passed the factory acceptance test, Rolls-Royce announced on Thursday. Rolls-Royce is in charge of providing two MT30 gas turbines to power the new 20,000 tonne d
NATO starts Dynamic Move mine countermeasure drill in Belgium
The annual, tactical level, mine countermeasure exercise Dynamic Move started on Monday in Belgium, NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) announced. Welcoming more than 150 participants representing 15 countries, including Partnership for Peace (PFP) countries Finland and Sweden, the exercise is h
Royal Navy cadets embark French training ships
French Navy officer cadets welcomed their Britannia Royal Naval College counterparts aboard their training ship squadron recently. Eight Royal Navy Young Officers (YOs) sailed with the French Marine Nationale’s training ships’ week-end visit to Dartmouth. Accompanied by two staff officers from the C
ESPS Relampago crew train with Seychellois forces
The crew of Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel ESPS Relampago took part in a range of maritime training exercises with the Seychelles Maritime Police, Coastguard and Air force during their visit to the Seychelles. The first day of training focused on briefings about search and rescue (SAR) proced
HMS Albion welcomes crew for first time in six years
A mothballed Royal Navy ship has officially reawakened when she embarked her crew for the first time since 2011. By doing so, amphibious command ship HMS Albion marked a major milestone in the ship’s multi-million pound capability upgrade in Plymouth. Abion was mothballed in 2011, just eight years a
Bush CSG enters US 6th Fleet area of operations
U.S. Navy’s George H.W. Bush carrier strike group entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on January 29, eight days after departing its homeport of Norfolk. The Bush CSG started its routine deployment on January 21 in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The groups consists o
Indonesian Navy receives first SIGMA 10514 guided missile frigate
The Indonesian Navy has received its first SIGMA 10514 guided missile frigate built by PT PAL. The state-owned shipbuilder delivered the frigate on January 23 at its shipyard in Surabaya, after the vessel completed sea trials in September 2016. Named KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata, the vessel is the fir
HMS Westminster starts sea trials after major refit
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster has taken to sea after works on her overhaul were completed in October last year. The sea trials that started this week are the first step in the long road back to rejoining the front-line fleet. When the ‘capital ship’ last sailed she had a different rad
US, UK sign P-8A logistics agreement
U.S. and UK defense representatives signed an agreement on closer P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft cooperation on January 25. The declaration, signed between UK’s Minister for Defense Procurement Harriett Baldwin and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, will see the two countries sharing logistic
Spanish minehunter joins NATO’s SNMCMG2
Spanish Navy minehunter ESPS Duero departed Cartagena, Spain to join the standing NATO mine countermeasures group two. Duero and her crew are scheduled to spend over two months with the international group before heading home in April. During this deployment in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the
German diver support vessel Rottweil joins NATO
German Navy’s diver support vessel FGS Rottweil is scheduled to depart its homeport in Kiel, Germany, on January 30, to join NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group two. The vessel and her crew will spend the next five months sailing with the SNMCMG2. Coming from the German Navy’s 3rd Mine Warfare
UK accepts RFA Tidespring after ten-month delay
After a ten-month delay, UK Ministry of Defence accepted the first Tide-class tanker, RFA Tidespring, from the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering on January 12, 2017. Several technical issues, including wiring and electrical design, came together to delay the ship deli