On Sunday 2 November the German Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA), which is currently operating as part of the EU Naval Force, reached an impressive 4,000 flying hours milestone with Operation Atalanta. As the German P3C Orion landed back at its base in Djibouti on Sunday, the aircr
The German Navy’s oldest commissioned ship, GORCH FOCK (A 60), took a moment to bid farewell to Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) German ship FGS NIEDERSACHSEN as the latter nears the end of its final deployment. NIEDERSACHSEN Commanding Officer Cmdr. Kurt Leonards, said: To meet the GORCH FO
More than 4,500 Sailors from 19 countries got underway to train across a range of simultaneous, and near simultaneous, crisis response missions during Exercise Bold Alligator, the largest, multinational, amphibious exercise conducted in a decade. Rear Adm. Cindy Thebaud, commander, Expeditionary Str
The UK MOD has offered a set of managed service provider contracts to provide private-sector expertise to support the transformation of DE&S. Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) buys and supports all the equipment used by the armed forces. Contractors will work alongside existing DE&S staff to help
The flagship of the EU Naval Force, ITS Andrea Doria, has completed her visit to Dubai. The Italian Navy destroyer was in port to participate in the UAE counter-piracy week between Monday 27 and Friday 31 October. The warship hosted a number of official events, including a visit by the Deputy Secret
On Sunday 2 November 2014, EU Naval Force warship, HNLMS van Speijk, came to the assistance of Somali seafarers, after their boat suffered severe engine problems out to sea. The Royal Netherlands Navy warship had been carrying out a friendly approach with local fishermen when the warship’s Boarding
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) forward deployed to Rota, Spain, will enter the Black Sea Nov. 4 to promote peace and stability in the region. Ross is deployed in a multi-mission role in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to contribute to regional maritime secur
U.S. 6th Fleet’s command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), returned to its homeport of Gaeta, Italy, following routine operations to the Black Sea, Oct. 31. During the underway, Mount Whitney made port visits to Batumi, Georgia; Constanta, Romania; and Burgas, Bulgaria. The ship’s presenc
Rolls-Royce Exhibits Naval Defence Propulsion and System Solutions at Euronaval Under the brand MTU, Rolls-Royce will be presenting propulsion and system solutions for the naval defence and marine sectors at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris from 27 to 31 October (Hall B2, Stand F38). Hull Misses th
Devising highly complex explosive devices and then challenging each other to disarm them was the name of the game for Royal Navy divers during a NATO exercise in Iceland. Ten men from Fleet Diving Unit 2, based at Horsea Island, Portsmouth, worked with personnel from eight other nations in a series
Spanish Navy’s frigates ‘Reina Sofía’ (F-84) and ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ (F-102), integrated into the 2nd Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG-2), will participate in the counter-terrorist operation ‘Active Endeavour’ (OAE) during the months of November and December. The ‘Reina Sofía’ will particip
Hull will not host the Royal Navy’s recently decommissioned aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. Confirming that Hull’s bid to bring the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious to the city as a temporary visitor attraction had not made the final shortlist, Hull City Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Brady sa
HMS Grimsby prowled the most hallowed waters in Royal Navy history as she took part in the largest naval exercise NATO has run this decade. The Faslane-based minehunter searched the waters off Cape Trafalgar in Spain where a deadly harvest of drill mines had been laid as part of Noble Justification.
Launched in 1999, the Rotterdam was the first of the Damen Enforcer class, an amphibious warfare vessel based around a single lane submersible dock that provides a sheltered environment for the deployment of landing craft. Built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS), 2014 sees her back at the n
