On Sunday 16 February, the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment flew its 1,000th operational sortie as part of the EU Naval Force. As the Swearingen SW3C Merlin aircraft landed back in the Seychelles, it was given an impressive ‘water-spray’ welcome by the Seych
EU Naval Force warships have once again come to the rescue of fishermen off the coast of Somalia. Following FGS Hessen’s rescue of a 14 year old fisherman from a capsized boat on Wednesday 12 February, this latest rescue, which happened on Thursday 13 February, saw French warship, FS Siroco and Ge
Between Sunday 2 and Saturday 8 February, Ukrainian Navy frigate, Hetman Sagaidachniy, which is currently operating with the EU Naval Force off the coast of Somalia, visited the port of Salalah in Oman. Having spent a number of weeks at sea, the visit was an opportunity to refuel the ship and to r
In anticipation of the long-awaited arrival home to their loved ones, the crew of HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer of the Royal Navy, sent a special Valentine Day’s message from their flight deck. The destroyer is on her way home from a global mission that lasted nine months and is expected to retu
Crewmembers of the Spanish Navy warship ESPS Tornado, assigned to EU Naval Force, conducted an exercise with the Malagasy Navy. The exercise took place in Antisiranana, Madagascar from 5 to 8 February and included participation of 18 people from the Malagasy Navy. The primary goal of the exercise
HMS Westminster has handed over her Op Kipion duties in the Indian Ocean to her sister ship HMS Somerset and is heading home, due for return at the end of the month. The frigate rounded off her six-month deployment with a final replenishment at sea with US Naval Ship (USNS) Alan Shepard. While kee
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) transits the Atlantic Ocean en route to Rota, Spain as the first of four Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers to be stationed in Rota. She departed Norfolk, Va. on January 31 bound for her new homeport where three o
The EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta warships have saved about 880,000 tonnes of world food programme aid from pirate attacks, thus achieving the EU Navfor’s primary goal. Operation Atalanta, also known as European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU-NAVFOR-ATALANTA), is a current military oper
The first of four US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), arrived on Tuesday, 11 February 2014 at Naval Station Rota, Spain, which will be its new permanent homeport. With the arrival, the destroyer kick started her forward deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operati
The crew of the German Navy ship, FGS Hessen, which is currently deployed within the EU Naval Force, changed an engine of the warship’s Sea Lynx Mark 88A helicopter during their recent port visit to the Seychelles last month. The procedure of changing an engine is extremely specialized and require
Force Commander of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) , Rear Admiral Herve Blejean, visited the Naval Force ships located in Djibouti. The Commander met with German and Spanish Maritime patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft teams, along with the Support Element of Operation Atalanta (SEA). The
Italian Navy frigate ITS Libeccio has completed her deployment within the European Naval Force Operation Atalanta. During the four-month deployment, ITS Libeccio conducted about 50 friendly approaches to local vessels in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and the Arabian Sea. Crew of the Italian Navy
General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of USNS John Glenn General Dynamics NASSCO today began construction of the future USNS John Glenn, the second ship of the U.S. Navy’s Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) program. The 765-foot long ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarte
Russian police is investigating a group of suspects, who are believed to be involved in a USD 28.7 million fraud scheme, committed during warship repair at the country’s shipyard Zvezda, according to the RIA Novosti. Seven criminal cases connected with the Russian shipyard Zvezda have been initiat
