The first Dutch F-35 Lightning II test aircraft, the AN-1, rolled off the production line in fully assembled condition at the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas, on 5 April. In the coming weeks, the aircraft will be given a special coating. Lockheed Martin will then test the aircraft’s sys
Warships from across the globe – including a dozen Royal Navy warships, submarines and auxiliaries – are converging on Scotland for the largest military exercise staged in home waters in many years. Thirty two naval units, plus soldiers and air forces – some 8,000 personnel in all from eight nations
HMS Middleton demonstrated her minehunting prowess during an exercise with the US Navy – finding a grand total of 13 dummy mines in the Gulf. The two Allied navies worked hand-in-hand for ten days – just one important episode in a busy month for Bahrain-based Middleton And despite the trompe-l’œil o
HMS Westminster’s pirate-busters trained with their Kenyan counterparts when the Portsmouth warship visited the great port of Mombasa. As well as exercising with local forces, the frigate was used to promote trade between the UK and East Africa and launched an initiative by Anglo-Kenyan authorities
Pirate camps on the Somali coast may now also be tackled from Dutch ships. The Dutch Government approved the expansion of the Atalanta counterpiracy mission and informed the House of Representatives of the decision on 6 April. However, military personnel will not set foot on land for the purposes of
On Wednesday 11 April, in Harlingen the third of four Holland Class Oceangoing Patrol Vessels, “Friesland” built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for the Royal Netherlands Navy, was transferred to the Defence Materiel Organization of the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands. After delivery the
Seven Polish sailors owe their lives to the dedication and heroism of Navy and RAF rescue crews who battled ferocious conditions to save them from their stricken ship. The Carrier was driven aground near Colwyn Bay in North Wales in storms – but all aboard were saved thanks to a three-hour rescue mi
In the morning of Tuesday 3 April, the two pilots of a crashed aircraft were rescued by the on-board Lynx helicopter of the guard ship HNLMS Amsterdam. The aircraft in question, a twin-engine Beechcraft, had made an emergency landing in the sea about 20 miles north-east of Aruba. The navy vessel had
Naval Aviation Department was established on Apr 4, 1932 in Far East Maritime Force HQ. Fist combat experience of Pacific Fleet (PF) Naval Aviation was in Aug 1938 during fierce battles near Lake Hasan. PF aviators also participated in war on militaristic Japan in 1945. They scuppered over 30 transp
The Navy directed U.S. Pacific Fleet and Naval Air Forces to stop, and reverse the deactivation process for carrier air wing (CVW) 14 in a memo dated March 20. The National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Dec. 31, 2011, mandates that the Navy maintain a minimum of 10 carrier air wings and
Units of Black Sea Fleet (KBSF) Marine Brigade were sealifted by large landing ships Azov and Novocherkassk from Sevastopol to Opuk Range near Feodosiya and conducted mock landing assault operation. On the way to the landing area, the ships and Su-24 aircrafts (BSF Naval Aviation) suppressed “enemy”
France Ministry of Defense has announced tender for installation of anti-submarine (ASW) equipment. The buoys are to be put in place by the maritime patrol aircraft and atl2 Helicopter Anti Submarine fighters to provide passive guidance sonobuoys NATO-like “dicass Ssq62 e” and “E dicass Ssq62 Mod1”.
On 19 March 2012, the multipurpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel left its home base of Den Helder for Somalia. The ship is set to take part in Operation Atalanta, the European Union’s counter-piracy mission. Before departure, family and friends of the crew said their farewells on board the ship. In the c
The Portsmouth-based frigate joined the USS Abraham Lincoln for anti-submarine exercises, before serving as the ‘plane guard’ for the carrier as she launched and recovered her aircraft. Her Majesty’s Ship Westminster sails in company with the USS Abraham Lincoln as the Portsmouth-based warship joine
