Amphibious & Support Ships
Spanish LPD Castilla bags lead role in hostage rescue drill
Spanish Navy’s landing platform dock ‘Castillla’ played a lead role during the country’s recent hostage rescue exercise. LPD ‘Castilla’ and elements from the Marine Corps Special Naval Warfare Force took part in exercise SOFEX 16, a simulated hostage rescue operation, in Cartagena waters, South East
Royal Navy patrol boat squadron puts on a show in Scotland
Eight patrol boats from the Royal Navy’s 1st Patrol Boat Squadron demonstrated their ability to sail in close formation at high speeds as they returned from the Battle of Jutland commemorations. Eight boats mustered in Leith docks for a day of combined training. The 54-tonne craft normally give stud
Gallery: First international green fuel RAS complete
Photos: Italian Navy Italian and U.S. Navy have completed the first international replenishment at sea (RAS) to involve the transfer of alternative fuel, in this case a synthetic biodiesel (Green Diesel) produced in Italy. On June 16, Italian Navy auxiliary ship Etna replenished the Arleigh Burke-cl
Photo of the day: An Admiral hovers over the water
Admirals hanging on a rope meters above water surface is not something sailors would consider a routine procedure. Italian Navy Admiral Andrea Gueglio, however, really wanted to try transferring from one ship to another via a material transport line. Having witnessed a resupply at sea conducted betw
Fincantieri beats DCNS in Qatari €4 billion shipbuilding mega contract
The Qatari Ministry of Defence has chosen the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri over the rival French DCNS for its €4 billion euro national naval acquisition program. Fincantieri and the Qatari Ministry of Defence signed the contract for the construction of seven new units overall in Rome, Ital
Germany deploys tender, minehunter to Mediterranean Sea
German Navy tender ‘Werra’ and the minehunter ‘Datteln’ will depart their homebase in Kiel on June 20 to join the EU NAVFOR mission of saving lives and apprehending smugglers in the Mediterranean Sea. Werra, commanded by Corvette Captain Mirko Preuß and Datteln, commanded by Corvette Captain Björn F
U.S. now hitting Daesh from two decks as USS Boxer joins strikes
Daesh positions are now being hit from two different regions as AV-8B Harriers taking off from USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Arabian Gulf joined strike aircraft operating from USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean Sea June 16. This marks the first naval aviation combat strike missions of Operation Inh
Babcock’s Appledore to build fourth Irish offshore patrol vessel
The Irish Department of Defense has awarded Babcock and its Appledore shipyard a contract to build the nation’s fourth Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel. All four vessels are built at the Appledore shipyard in North Devon at a unit price of around €54 million. The first two vessels in the
First MH-60R helicopter lands aboard Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt
Danish Department of Defence celebrated the delivery of its first three MH-60R Seahawk helicopters by having one of the aircraft land aboard the Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt in Copenhagen Harbor, Denmark, June 6. The helicopters were delivered by the U.S. Navy under a $686 million foreign military
German frigate Karlsruhe leaves Mediterranean and operation Sophia
Having spent more than 2 months in the Central Mediterranean Sea as part of EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia efforts in fighting human smugglers and traffickers and preventing the further loss of life at sea, the German frigate FGS Karlsruhe left the mission today. Commenting on ship’s achievements, EU
US Navy sends USNS Grapple to support NATO in Aegean Sea
The U.S. will back NATO’s efforts in the Aegean Sea by deploying rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple to the area, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during the NATO defense ministers conference this week. NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 has been trying to curb people smugglers’ activities in t
UN authorizes seizing of arms from vessels in Libyan waters
The UN Security Council authorized member states’ ships to “use all measures” to intercept suspected vessels sailing in Libyan waters in an effort to implement the arms embargo imposed on Libya. The adopted resolution urged members to combat, by all means, threats to international peace and security
German maritime air detachment departs Operation Atalanta
German Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment which has been flying the Orion P-3C as part of Operation Atalanta is set to return to the home air base in Germany. 50 soldiers from the Naval Air Wing (MFG) 3 “Graf Zeppelin” have been stationed at the Horn of Africa since March
Spanish minehunter joins EUROMARFOR for drills
After taking part in the advanced multinational mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise Spanish Minex-16, minehunter Duero (M-35) integrated into the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR) to take part in the Italian Minex-16 and the maritime security exercise MCE-16 in Tunisian waters. The Spanish M-35,