The first NH90 NFH Step B has been delivered to the Italian Navy. This fully operational naval helicopter will be assigned to the 5th Helicopter Squadron of the Italian Navy at the Sarzana-Luni base. The Italian Navy has ordered 56 NH90s, 46 of which in the NFH variant. “This NH90 Step B will allow
Continuing his goal to keep Florida the most military-friendly state in the nation, Governor Rick Scott today announced that the National Center for Simulation, located at Naval Support Activity Orlando, has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the Florida Defense Support Task Force. The funding will
Hobart welcomed the first Collins Class submarine visit to the region for five years, with the arrival of HMAS Farncomb into port late last week. Commanding Officer, Commander Byron Williamson said the routine port visit allowed the submarine to be resupplied and provided some rest and recreation to
The UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship, Fort Victoria, simultaneously refueled the Australian ship, HMAS Melbourne, and the Norwegian ship, HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen, in balmy conditions off the north-eastern coast of Somalia. This risky manoeuvre requires nerves of steel from each ship’s captain and
Maritime forces from the United States, 10 East African and two European nations, along with several international organizations, commenced the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express 2013, Nov. 11. Exercise Cutlass Express 2013, held in several operational areas in waters off East Africa, i
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) returned to Naval Station Norfolk Nov. 8, after completing a nine-month deployment. The ship departed for the U.S. 6th Fleet (C6F) area of responsibility Feb. 7, where she supported the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) mission and ma
Onboard RFA Lyme Bay, which is part of European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, the Boarding teams from the Fleet Contingency Troop and K Company 43 Commando Royal Marines have taken advantage of the Lynx MK 8 that embarked from RFA Fort Austin to practice fast roping techn
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group reentered the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR) after transiting the Suez Canal, Nov. 8. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11, Carrier Air Wing 11, and Destroyer Squadron 23, spent nearly three weeks in
On Sunday NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD warship HDMS ESBERN SNARE boarded two small craft and detained nine suspected pirates, following an attack in the area the previous day. On the previous day, the Danish flagged vessel TORM KANSAS reported she was attacked unsuccessfully by pirat
The Lithuanian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD), deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta since August 2013, is tasked with the protection of the World Food Programme (WFP) ship MV Caroline Scan. Embarked on the Caroline scan around the clock, the AVPD en
Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN 727) departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), Nov. 2 completing a 11-month Major Maintenance Period (MMP). Michigan, homeported out of Naval Base Kitsap,Bangor, entered Bremerton in December 2012 fo
Exercise Steadfast Jazz concluded successfully on Nov. 8 after two weeks of intense multinational joint military training in locations across Europe. About 6,000 personnel from 28 NATO member nations as well as three-partner nations (Sweden, Finland and Ukraine) trained together in a combined multin
Members of an Australian led multi-nation Task Force in Solomon Islands as part of Operation RENDER SAFE 2013 were welcomed to the country last week by the Australian High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands, Mr Matt Anderson. Operation RENDER SAFE is an ongoing Australian-led operation to safely di
Royal Australian Navy Minehunter Coastal (MHC), HMAS Gascoyne, has been hard at work conducting Route Survey of Darwin Harbour over the past few weeks. Route Survey is the exploration of a route to determine the nature of the seabed and the nature of any underwater objects that are detected. The dat
