Aviation
UK Trainee Aviators Practice at Sea Flights
British trainee aviators have been trying to find their sea legs during a six week training exercise to see if they have got what it takes to fly at sea. The trainee aircrew from 824 Naval Air Squadron are about to be awarded with their Wings – but only if they pass the final, and most […]
Royal Navy Vessels on Their Way to St Helena
Two Royal Navy vessels, Type 23 Frigate HMS Lancaster and fuel tanker RFA Gold Rover, will visit the island of St Helena from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 October 2015 – to take part in the bicentennial anniversary of Napoleon’s arrival to the Island. Events planned include a call on the Governor by the
HMS Ocean Prepares for Exercise Corsican Lion
Royal Navy Fleet flagship HMS Ocean has arrived in Toulon, France, for final preparations ahead of Exercise Corsican Lion. The exercise, part of the Royal Navy’s Cougar 15 deployment, provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the ship’s role as an amphibious assault ship. HMS Ocean carries the UK’s
RFA Lyme Bay Assist in Bahamas Island Evacuation
Inhabitants of a remote community on tiny Crooked Island – 250 miles from the Bahamian capital Nassau – were flown to safety as part of a hurricane relief effort led by amphibious ship RFA Lyme Bay. Sailors, soldiers, Royal Marines and airmen all weighed into the relief effort on the Island after ho
FS Courbet Boosts EU Naval Force MED Efforts
French Navy’s frigate FS Courbet joined EU Naval Force MED operation on October 2. The vessel departed from her home base in Toulon, France, with a Panther helicopter from the French Naval Aviation 36F Flottille, allowing it to significantly expand the scope of its sensors. Whilst with EUNAVFOR MED,
ESPS Canarias Joins EUNAVFOR MED
Spanish frigate ESPS Canarias officially joined EUNAVFOR MED on October 5, 2015. The Spanish ship reached the European mission flag-ship, the Italian aircraft vessel Cavour, in the military harbor of Augusta, in Sicily, early in the morning, spending an entire briefing-day on board to complete the p
LÉ Samuel Beckett Carries Out First SAR
In its first mission, Irish Navy’s LÉ Samuel Beckett was tasked by the Italian Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (IMRCC) to investigate a wooden craft sighted by an Italian naval helicopter 80 kilometers north west of Tripoli Oct. 5. Another Irish ship, LÉ Niamh, located the vessel and commenced a
Singapore Hosts SEACAT Exercise
The 14th annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercise commenced at the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Multinational Operations and Exercises Centre (MOEC) Oct. 5. SEACAT focuses on regional cooperation to address shared maritime security challenges like smuggling, piracy and other
HMS Queen Elizabeth Gets New Radar System
A cutting-edge 3D radar system, capable of detecting objects as small as a tennis ball and travelling at three times the speed of sound more than 25km away, has been successfully installed to the Royal Navy’s future aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. Known as Artisan 3D the radar system will be
US Osprey Lands on HMS Ocean
A US Marine Corps Osprey has landed on the flight deck of HMS Ocean for the first time in over five years. The landing was the first step in demonstrating the partnership between the amphibious helicopter platform and the US Marines Corps (USMC) ahead of the major NATO exercise, Trident Juncture, wh
ESPS Meteoro Meets Somali Seafarers
Spanish warship, ESPS Meteoro, performed friendly approaches with local seafarers in the Somali Basin on Wednesday, September 30. After sighting the seafarers in the early morning, ESPS Meteoro’s crew delivered food and drink, as well as giving minor medical assistance to the master of one of the dh
USCG Cutter Active Back Home in Port Angeles
A local US Coast Guard cutter has returned to Port Angeles following a successful 50-day counter-narcotics patrol off the Pacific coast of Central America. During the patrol, the 65-person crew of Coast Guard Cutter Active interdicted three suspected smuggling vessels, detained nine suspects, and se
Ike Aces First F-35C Arrested Landing
US Navy’s USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) successfully completed its first arrested landing of an F-35C Lightning II carrier variant, Oct. 2. The arrested landing is part of the second phase of at-sea Developmental Testing (DT-II) for the F-35C, which is expected to last two weeks. These tes
British Aircrews Complete Deck Landing Qualifications
Eleven months after 846 Naval Air Squadron reformed with the Merlin Mk3 helicopter, the crews completed their Deck Landing qualifications on the Royal Fleet Auxilary (RFA) Argus. For a number of 846 NAS aircrew this was the first time in over three years they had operated with a ship due to being on