Hosted by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, visiting defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) toured USS Anchorage (LPD 23) April 2 as part of an historic gathering in Hawaii. As the first-ever meeting of its kind to take place in the United States, the ongoing thr
On Wednesday 2 April, German Navy frigate, FGS Hessen departed the waters of the Gulf of Aden and headed for home after completing four months of counter piracy patrols with the EU Naval Force. After a short port stop in Malaga, Spain, FGS Hessen will arrive in her home port in Wilhelmshaven on Th
A memorial rededication service held at HMAS Albatross today marked the ninth anniversary of the loss of the Sea King helicopter ‘Shark 02’, which crashed in 2005 while supporting a humanitarian support mission on the Indonesian island of Nias. Nine Australian Defence Force personnel were killed in
The Spanish frigate ‘Álvaro de Bazán’ (F-101) has arrived in Ferrol after 179 days out of her home port, integrated into the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2). During this deployment the F-101 participated in operation ‘Active Endeavour’ fighting terrorism in the Mediterranean Sea and the coun
A ceremony was held yesterday at Australian company, Marand, commemorating the delivery of the first ship of Australian made F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter vertical tails. The Honourable Dr. Denis Napthine, Premier of Victoria, and The Honourable Michael Ronaldson, Senator for Victoria rep
Service members and civilians involved in the scheduled deployment of the joint high speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) this summer to the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations met March 25 and March 26 at Naval Station Mayport to finalize plans for the mission. The Spearhe
On 16th March the Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean visited the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel, ESPS Relampago for the first time since the ship arrived in the piracy high risk area. ESPS Relampago joined Operation Atalanta, the EU
It’s not every day that passengers on board a civilian cruise liner would get so close to a warship on operations that they could wave to each other, but this is just what happened last week when the German cruise liner, AIDAdiva, with over 2,000 passengers on board, met German frigate FGS Hessen at
Ships and embarked squadrons from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HST CSG) completed operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOR) March 28. The strike group completed a 120-mile transit of the Suez Canal, marking the end to more than seven straight months of operations in th
The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Toowoomba departed Fleet Base West near Perth on 29 March, to join the international search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The Anzac-class frigate has been diverted from other operational tasks to join the search. It will carry a S-70B2 Seahawk helicopter whi
Ahead of Chinese President Xi’s visit to the European Union in Brussels, a significant naval exercise has taken place in the Gulf of Aden to demonstrate the growing cooperation between the EU and China on issues of international security and defence. EU Naval Force warships, FS Siroco and FGS Hess
Korea Opts for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Aircraft The Republic of Korea has formally selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft for its F-X fighter acquisition program. USS Elrod Takes Over Escort Duties of Libyan Seized Tanker The U.S. Navy’s USS Elrod relieved the USS Stout of
Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) participated in Exercise NIRIIS 2014 earlier this month near Crete. The exercise focused on training participants in Maritime Interdiction Operations, including asymmetric threat scenarios, helicopter and flight-deck training, mine countermea
London-based missile developer MBDA welcomed the signature of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract for the FASGW(H)/ANL (Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy)/ Anti Navire Léger) missile on 27th March 2014. This jointly funded Anglo-French contract, valued at more than £500 million (€600
