Aviation
RFA Mounts Bay visits Grand Cayman on Caribbean deployment’s first stop
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay unloaded military personnel, trucks and heavy equipment onto the Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, for the first stop of the dock landing ship’s deployment to the Caribbean. Swimmers, sunbathers and holidaymakers looked on as the 16,000-ton RFA Mounts Bay moored off th
Royal Navy auxiliary ships switch roles in Lesser Antilles
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay took over UK’s North Atlantic patrol duties from RFA Wave Knight during a port visit to the Lesser Antilles port of Fort-de-France in Martinique. Handing over the baton to Mounts Bay, RFA Wave Knight wrapped up a 13 month deployment which has seen the ship sail
Fincantieri cuts steel for Italian Navy landing helicopter dock
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a steel cutting ceremony for the Italian Navy’s multipurpose amphibious unit (LHD or Landing Helicopter Dock) at its Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on July 12. The approx. 200 meters long LHD will have a maximum speed of 25 knots and will be equipped with a com
Royal Marines’ upgraded Mk4 Merlin helicopter visits future home
The first of the Royal Marines’ upgraded Mk4 Merlin helicopters recently visited its future home at Yeovilton air base for refueling. The second-generation battlefield Merlin, factory model MLSP 1, tail number ZJ122, made the debut as the air station prepared for its annual air day on July 8. The he
MBDA in first test firing of Anglo-French anti-ship missile Sea Venom/ANL
Missile manufacturer MBDA announced it has completed the first test firing of the Anglo-French anti-ship missile Sea Venom/ANL at the Île du Levant test range in France. The missile is being developed to deliver an enhanced capability and replace existing and legacy systems such as the UK-developed
ITS Espero, Augsta-Bell AB 212 keep up pressure on pirates
As part of her counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Italian warship, ITS Espero, has an Agusta-Bell AB 212 helicopter embarked. This highly capable helicopter provides the commanding officer with much-needed versatility, speed and range, as well as an intelligence-gathering c
New Russian Navy’s corvette conducts landing tests
Russian Navy’s advanced Project 20380 corvette, the Sovershenny, has taken the Ka-27 helicopter aboard during the recent official tests, according to TASS. The Ka-27 antisubmarine search and rescue helicopter landed over 20 times on the corvette during the day and night while the corvette was in mot
First deck landing on HMS Queen Elizabeth
A Merlin helicopter has landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s enormous flight deck – the first aircraft to ever touch down on Britain’s biggest warship. It fell to 26-year-old pilot Lieutenant Luke Wraith from Yorkshire to set the 14-tonne helicopter safely down on the aircraft carrier, just days after sh
Multi-billion deal: Royal Navy orders three new Type 26 frigates
The first of the Royal Navy’s next-generation frigates will be laid down before the month is out after a £3.7 billion order was placed for three Type 26s. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon yesterday announced the contract with BAE Systems to deliver the first batch of global combat ships. They wi
UK deploys two warships on NATO missions
The Royal Navy is sending two warships to NATO missions in the Mediterranean Sea, UK’s defense secretary Michael Fallon confirmed at the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Multi-role survey ship HMS Enterprise is already underway and is set to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter
US, UK, Norway form P-8A aircraft trilateral partnership for maritime security
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway have signed a statement of intent to outline principles of cooperation on the P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The statement was signed on the outlines of the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Norway and the UK ar
Royal Navy sailors find lost US Navy sonar
A team of Royal Navy sailors aboard the minehunter HMS Bangor helped save the U.S. Navy more than $1 million by finding and recovering a previously lost sonar. The large sonar was lost during the latest Anglo-French-US exercise in the Gulf, Artemis Trident. Although the chief aim of the workout was
Royal Navy air crew helps rescue sunken tanker crew in Indian Ocean
The crew of a Royal Navy helicopter rescued the last survivor of a tanker which sank in the Indian Ocean on June 26. The Wildcat helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth rescued the 13th survivor from tanker Rama 2 which sank 140 miles off the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Yemen. The [
HMS Queen Elizabeth joined by frigates on sea trials
Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was joined by two frigates as she embarked on her maiden sea trials. The frigates’ role is to secure the seas around the aircraft carrier as she conducts vital system tests off the coast of Scotland today. HMS Queen Elizabeth left Rosyth, where s