French multinational defence contractor Thales has been contracted by the Estonian Ministry of Defence to upgrade three Estonian Navy’s Sandown-class Single Role Minehunters. Under the contract, the company will fit its Sonar 2193 system as well as its latest generation M-CUBE command and control sy
Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 8 Allied nations met on the Central Mediterranean Sea for Dynamic Manta 2016 (DYMA 16), NATO’s submarine warfare exercise which began February 22 off the Sicilian coast. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the U
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Atalaya (P-74) set sail from Ferrol, Spain for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in support of the Spanish Defense Diplomacy Plan. These deployments, organized by the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) and the Spanish Navy, are inte
A Lithuanian Navy Lieutenant was awarded an Operation Atalanta Medal for his service as part of the EU NAVFOR-Atalanta, European Union operation for countering piracy and armed robbery at sea. “Be proud of this medal, it is recognition of your outstanding commitment, professionalism and efforts,” th
Having departed NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 1 (SNMCMG 1), Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Grimsby returned to its home port of HM Naval Base Clyde on Friday, February 12. The Sandown Class Mine Counter Measures Vessel (MCMV) was operating off the coast of Denmark, working alongside intern
Two Spanish Navy vessels are currently sailing towards Sicily, Italy to take part in exercise Dynamic Malta 16, says the Navy. The French-design Galerna-class submarine Mistral (S-73) and the lead ship frigate Santa María (F-81) will integrate into a naval task group and participate in NATO’s anti-s
Images: Luis Sánchez Oller (MARCOM) Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 are currently conducting Exercise Dynamic Guard 2016 in the Norwegian North Sea off the coast of Austevoll. The exercise started February 15 and is scheduled to conclude February 19. The aim of this exercise is to mainta
The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and in Source Support (BAAINBw) has contracted the French company Thales to modernize the German Navy’s tactical and procedural trainer (TVTM1) at the naval training centre (MOS) in Bremerhaven. The order covers the regenerati
Spanish Navy auxiliary ship SPS Patiño which will, under an agreement between the Spanish and Royal Canadian Navy, constitute a regular part of the Canadian Navy in the following two months, arrived to Halifax, Nova Scotia on February 12. Rear Admiral John Newton, Commander of Canadian Maritime Forc
NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two, with the German combat support ship EGV Bonn at the helm, sailed into the Souda Harbor, on the Greek island of Crete. This is where the Greek frigate Salamis (F-455) joined the maritime group for the operations ahead. The ships sailed into the harbor a day earlier
Attending the NATO Defence Ministers, meeting in Brussels, Canadian Defence Minister, Harjit S. Sajjan supported the decision and confirmed the participation of the Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Fredericton in the Aegean Sea patrols. NATO Defence Ministers, meeting in Brussels, agreed on February 11, 2
The Belgian Navy’s new Caiman helicopters, which became operational in August of 2015, are now preparing for the naval aspect of their jobs. Therefore, the crew of the RN03 call-signed Caiman went to the Netherlands Naval Air Station De Kooy where they practiced deck landings on the Dutch patrol ves
Four ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) arrived in Batumi, Georgia on February 12. The fifth member of the Group, Italian Navy minehunter Gaeta, will arrive later in the visit. Under the command of Captain Ramazan Kesgin, Turkish Navy, the Group includes the fl
Two Royal Navy Type 23 frigates HMS Iron Duke and Monmouth on February 12 arrived in the Norwegian city of Bergen ahead of NATO war games around the fjords. Iron Duke is assigned to NATO’s Standing Group 1 – the first RN ship in more than a decade to attach to the formation, which patrols the [&hell
