Australia will acquire another 58 F-35A Lightning II aircraft in a major boost to the nation’s air combat capability, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced in Canberra on April 23. The additional aircraft will lift the total number of F-35As Australia will acquire to 72, after a previous decision t
HMAS Stirling is preparing for the biggest ANZAC Day yet in the 99th year since the Gallipoli campaign. Personnel from HMAS Stirling, Fleet Base West units and lodger units will be honouring the special day in locations across Western Australia. Personnel have been practising their drill in the le
Commander Lin Wan of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) was farewelled from HMAS Success on 20 April following a successful 12-day placement as part of Operation Southern Indian Ocean. Commander Wan joined Success as a Liaison Officer for the Chinese vessels searching as part of the interna
On Sunday, the crew of HMA Ships’ Paluma and Mermaid celebrated Easter Sunday at anchor off Jar Island, Vansittart Bay, Western Australia. It has been nearly 195 years since CMDR Phillip Parker King, RN, and His Britannic Majesty’s Cutter Mermaid first surveyed and documented Vansittart Bay and its
At the recent media conference conducted by the Chief Coordinator of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston (Ret’d), said that the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield had detected an oil slick on Sunday evening in her current search area. Preliminary analysis of t
The Royal Navy has taken over command of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Combined Task Force 150 from the Royal Australian Navy at a formal change of command ceremony in Bahrain. Commodore Jeremy Blunden RN assumed command of CTF 150 from Commodore Daryl Bates RAN bringing to an end the RAN’s fifth
As the sun sets on Exercise SEA DAWN this month, the ship’s company of HMAS Choules reflected on the important milestones they helped the Australian Defence Force (ADF) achieve in training for amphibious operations. From 24 March, around 450 people from all three Services conducted helicopter, boa
James Fisher Defence (JFD), the leading global sub-sea operations and engineering company, has been awarded a special commendation from the Submarine Force Commander of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), as a result of their dedication and innovation demonstrated during Black Carillon 2013, a naval ex
The U.S. Department of Defense and Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense held the 5th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on April 15-16 in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the two-day meeting, ROK Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Yoo, Jeh Seung, met with the U.S. Chief
The oil sample collected by Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield on Sunday within the search mission for missing MH 370 has now arrived in Perth and will be subject to detailed testing and analysis. Australian Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said that it will provide details of the r
The 25-member Royal Australian Navy counter terrorism taskforce, Combined Taskforce 150 (CTF150), returned to Australia today after a successful five month Middle East deployment, which resulted in the interdiction of significant amounts of drugs headed to fund violent and extremist organisations.
While patrolling in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa, Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Darwin provided emergency medical assistance for a heart attack victim on a French fishing vessel. The French Fishing Vessel (FV) Cape Saint Vincent called for assistance late on the night of the 10th of
The town of Albany in Western Australia played host to a unique international visitor on 9 April when the People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel Qiandaohu visited. The Fuchi class replenishment ship had spent more than a month at sea with a Chinese fleet as part of the international search
NUSHIP Canberra’s Ship’s Company walked hundreds of kilometres over the past month, familiarising themselves with the Navy’s newest platform. Twelve decks high and 230 metres in length, the ship’s company have had a taste of how big the learning curve is and how fit they need to be to navigate aro
