Royal Navy’s HMS Enterprise concluded a year-long stint with NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2, handing over the flagship role to German Navy tender FGS Rhein. The Royal Navy survey ship concluded her deployment in a change of command ceremony in Souda Bay, Crete, on July 6. Enterprise le
The upgraded Block 2 Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) recently intercepted a BQM-74E aerial target in a successful flight test, the US Navy announced on July 5. This was the first ESSM flight test to utilize the new Block 2 active guidance seeker-head. ESSM Block 2 will employ both semi-active and
The Royal Australian Navy is one step closer to operating their new hyperbaric equipment after the system achieved acceptance and global certification from Lloyds Register. The system, a transfer under pressure chamber and recompression treatment suite worth AU$19.7 million, can treat the whole crew
The first of the Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines has returned to service after receiving upgrades during maintenance at ASC’s shipyard in Osborne, South Australia. ASC completed planned maintenance onboard the HMAS Collins as part of a full-cycle docking and enterprise restructure o
International engineering and technology consultancy BMT has announced the purchase of niche submarine design, engineering and assurance firm, Effectiva. An employer of submarine specialists, Effectiva is based in Australia, South Africa and France. BMT said the acquisition was part of the company’s
The German Navy has been forced to withdraw its only two tankers from NATO operations this year. As disclosed, the tanker oldies, Spessart and Rhön, will not be operational until the end of this year. Due to engine issues, both 1974-built ships will undergo repairs in the following months. The compl
More than 75 years after the Second World War, decommissioned Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) diving support vessel Manawanui will soon be fighting environmental hazards at key sites across the southern Pacific. Decommissioned from the RNZN in February 2018 after 30 years of service, former HMNZS Mana
NATO’s Standing Maritime Group changed command in a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 30. Commodore Mike Utley OBE formally handed over command of the SNMG2 to his Dutch counterpart Commodore Boudewijn G.F.M. Boots. This marked the end of a yearlong UK commitment leading SNMG2. Rear Admiral Jame
The US Navy amphibious ready group led by Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) returned to homeport on June 28, after completing the Navy’s first East Coast ARG Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise. SWATT is led by mentors and warfare tactics instructors (W
US Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) returned to its homeport of Apra Harbor, Guam on June 29. Oklahoma City is returning from a four-month deployment to Indo-Pacific, where the crew executed the Chief of Naval Operations’ Maritime Strategy, supporting national se
A new training and capability center at HMAS Stirling and Henderson which will support the Australian Navy’s new SEA 5000 frigates – to be built by BAE Systems – will benefit from an AU$670 million investment, the Australian government has announced. To be known as ‘Ship Zero’, the center will trans
Northrop Grumman and SeeByte have teamed up to incorporate mine hunting sensor data collected by the AQS-24B autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) into the SeeTrack system to enhance its autonomous target recognition (ATR) capability. “The merging of the unmanned surface vessel-based AQS-24B with the
BAE Systems has beaten its Spanish and Italian competitors in a bid to build a fleet of nine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the decision on Friday. Once in Royal Australian Navy service, the frigates will be referred to as the Hunter-
After concluding international exercise Tradewinds 2018, Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay is touring British territories in the Caribbean region to help them prepare for this year’s storm season. The 2017 storm season was among the worst in recent memory with a succession of hurricanes batterin
