BPC Dixmude – the third Mistral/BPC-type force projection & command vessel for the French Navy – arrived in Toulon after sailing from Saint-Nazaire on 6 July. Over the coming six months, DCNS will settle the ship’s combat system. The ship will be delivered to the French defence procurement agency DG
Two yachtsmen owe their lives to the fliers of 771 Naval Air Squadron after a dramatic rescue in a gale 100 miles off Cornwall. Aircrewman Sgt Tony Russell RM was forced to dive into the Atlantic and under a liferaft to haul one of the sailors to safety after the men had abandoned the […]
HMS York returned to cheering crowds of families and well-wishers at Portsmouth Naval Base last week following a varied and wide-ranging deployment to the South Atlantic and Libya. The Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer sailed into the base in spectacular style, with a powerful 15-gun salute to the Second
Portsmouth based warship HMS Westminster has been formally recognised by the American Armed Forces for her contribution to operations in Libya earlier this year. The Type-23 frigate was initially deployed to Libya on Operation Ellamy to take part in humanitarian operations and evacuate refugees, tak
LAET Greg Coulter ‘dances‘ on the surface of the Indian Ocean as HMS Sutherland practises winching drills in the middle of a major amphibious exercise off the shores of Saudi Arabia. The Devonport-based Type 23 frigate is the escort for the Cougar 11 task group – the Navy’s key deployment of the yea
The flight deck of HMS Illustrious has buzzed and throbbed once more with aircraft as helicopters returned to the first time since her £40m overhaul. LA James Batley guided the first aircraft – a Merlin of 814 Naval Air Squadron – to set down on the deck of ‘Lusty’ in more than 18 months, […]
This is the dramatic moment a crewman from a stricken merchant ship was lifted to safety – one of 13 sailors plucked from their stricken vessel by Royal Navy aviators off Oman. All souls aboard the tanker MV Pavit were winched off by a Merlin from HMS St Albans, as the Portsmouth frigate broke [&hel
Libyan television demonstrated wrecks of an aircraft, having declared that was AH-64 Apache helicopter shot down by Gaddafi’s army. However, under close examination it turned out to be American unmanned air vehicle (UAV) MQ-8B Fire Scout. According to Flight Daily News, NATO coalition confirmed that
THE SAINTS are ready to deal with sinners after honing their boarding skills in Crete. HMS St Albans has completed her final stint of training before entering her operational theatre east of Suez, ready to strike a blow at terrorists, smugglers and pirates. After a brief pit-stop in Gibraltar, the P
Latvia is about to claim NATO’s compensation if Russia deploys French Mistral class helicopter carriers in the Baltic, reports Telegraph referring to Inga Salenietse, advisor to Latvian defense minister. The head of Latvian defense ministry Artis Pabriks confirmed that information. As for him, if th
After £40m work carried out over the past 16 months, Lusty has set off down the long road to front-line service which will take her to the end of her life in 2014. The carrier left Rosyth today for an extensive series of trials in UK waters before returning to her natural home in […]
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced yesterday at the Paris Air Show that the Brazilian Navy has signed an agreement with the U.S. Government to acquire two additional Sikorsky S-70B™ maritime helicopters via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp
Six Project 11356 frigates will be constructed for Russian Navy, reported Vzglyad referring to a source in Yantar Shipyard (Kaliningrad). “Some time ago we were informed that the shipyard was to build other three Project 11356 frigates for Russian Navy in addition to the first three ships. In total,
DCNS named Gowind offshore patrol vessel L’Adroit at a ceremony that gathered more than 500 potential customers, partners, co-suppliers and employees. The L’Adroit programme spearheads DCNS’s ambitious efforts to win a larger share of the growing markets for small- and medium-displacement surface sh
