820 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, whose Merlin’s are set to be the first helicopters on the Queen Elizabeth carrier, now have a new commander. On February 8, Commander Jon Holroyd took the helm of RNAS Culdrose’s 820 Naval Air Squadron from his predecessor Commander Ros
NATO ships will be patrolling the Aegean Sea on the look out for people smugglers in the region. The patrols will monitor migrant and smuggler movement in waters between Greece and Turkey. This decision with immediate effect came from a joint German, Greek and Turkish initiative at a NATO meeting in
Pakistani Navy Chief, Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, paid a visit to EU NAVFOR’s operational headquarters in London, UK, February 11. He was welcomed by the Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Jonas Wikstrӧm. During the visit both Admirals welcomed the good cooperation that exists at sea between Operation A
Ship engine maker James Troop & Co has won an order to supply Volvo Penta diesel engines for three European naval vessels being built on Merseyside, UK. James Troop, one of the UK’s major Volvo Penta Centres, will supply the engines for three vessels being constructed by MST (Marine Specialised Tech
Speaking at the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that UK would almost double its deployments to NATO at sea in 2016. For the first time since 2010 the UK will contribute to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), an enduring com
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced February 9 that it has started construction works on the Italian Navy’s logistic support ship which will be built under the Navy’s fleet renewal plan. The steel cutting ceremony of the ships stern section was held yesterday at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Riva
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced an additional £201 million of funding to support further design work for the Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear submarines. The funding is within the £3.3 billion Assessment Phase of the Successor programme and will enable BAE Systems to develop the desi
HMS Ceres, Leeds’ first Royal Naval Reserve Unit has been formally commissioned by The Princess Royal at a dedication ceremony February 6. Ceres has existed in various forms as a naval establishment in Yorkshire over the past 70 years and, until last year, was a satellite unit of HMS Calliope on Tyn
Saab Seaye, a manufacturer of electric powered Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) systems, hosted an international group of mine countermeasures specialists at its Fareham, Hampshire, UK facility. The group, that included the Deputy Director of The NATO Underwater Research Centre, saw a range of existi
Ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1) arrived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for a scheduled port visit February 5, during their deployment to the North and Baltic Seas to enhance maritime security and to contribute to international stability. SNMG1’s visit to Amsterdam precedes the
Russia’s re-emergence as a strategic challenge and how NATO is going to respond to it was the center-discussion at the Surface Warship Summit in Bucharest, Romania, held January 26-28. Speaking at the summit, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone CB CBE, Commander of Allied Maritime Command, said: “The combi
After spending six months at sea, German Navy’s Frankenthal-class mine hunter Weilheim returned to its homeport in Kiel, Germany on February 7. The German Navy 3rd Squadron ship was part of both the German contribution to NATO’s mine countermeasures group, the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Gro
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, together with the Italian frigate ITS Libeccio and the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, headed for the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish frigate TCG Barbaros joined them in Aksaz, Turkey. The group conducted a range of drills before and after their port cal
The Letter of Intent, signed February 4 between the Netherlands and Germany, breaks the ground for the development of the Joint Support Ship initiative and the amphibious operation capability. Germany is thereby acquiring new capabilities while the Dutch Navy is enabled to equip its ships more effic
