Phoenix Express 2012 (PE12), a multi-national exercise between Southern European, North African and U.S. naval forces, officially kicked off at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operation Training Center (NMIOTC) in Souda Bay, May 7. Phoenix Express is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve co
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer (DDG) will be named the USS Thomas Hudner. Thomas J. Hudner Jr., a naval aviator who retired as a captain, received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for displaying uncommon valor du
The Royal Navy’s largest ship, HMS Ocean, sailed up the River Thames today to take part in a major military and civilian exercise to ensure the London 2012 Olympic Games are as safe and secure as possible. Royal Marines snipers from 539 Assault Squadron and 43 Commando will be on board the Navy Lynx
April 28, late afternoon, after 24 dense hours and three consecutive replenishments at sea led by EU NAVFOR flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart from NATO – Operation Ocean Shield. This long sequence started at dusk on April 27 for the command and replenishme
The British duo joined warships from the USA, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan – including an old Royal Navy favourite – for the war games in the Gulf of Oman. In the seemingly ever-present haze of the Gulf region, a Trafalgar-class submarine and an approximate American counterpart, USS Pittsburgh, lead a
The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) received a visit from Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic (CSFTL), while at sea, on its progress though a composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), May 1. Rear Adm. Dennis E. FitzPatrick, CSFTL, landed on the destroyer via helic
Austal held a keel-laying ceremony for the third Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), one of nine Austal-designed 103-metre US Navy Joint High Speed Vessels under contract with the US Navy. Austal invited Representative Jo Bonner to authenticate the keel. He was assisted by Jeff Cellon who is an “A” Clas
Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset has begun a nine month docking period being undertaken by Babcock at Devonport – marking the first refit to be undertaken under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) Class Output Management (COM) Phase 2 arrangements, which officially came into effect last month (Apri
An aircraft at the cutting edge of naval airpower will return to RNAS Yeovilton for its annual Air Day on 23 June. Living up to its name, the Dassault Rafale (‘Squall’, or ‘Hurricane’) will tear through the skies over this key Royal Naval Air Station. The Dassault Rafale M is the French Navy’s most
HMS Dauntless played a key part in helping to keep the waters off West Africa safe during a major international exercise. The Portsmouth-based destroyer joined warships and personnel from ten other nations off Senegal for Exercise Saharan Express aimed at dealing with the enduring threats of people
An enhanced helicopter facility has opened at HMS Raleigh to help with the training of British and NATO warships off the coast of Devon and Cornwall. In their distinctive blue livery, two Dauphin helicopters which serve the RN’s premier training organisation are parked on new landing pads at HMS Ral
Guided missile frigate USS Elrod (FFG 55) with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) recovered 89 bales of cocaine in support of Operation Martillo on April 20 in the Western Caribbean Sea. An SH-60B Sea Hawk assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 60 Det
At an impressive ceremony at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, INS Teg was commissioned on Friday 27th as an Indian Naval Ship by Vice Admiral KN Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command. INS Teg, is a modern and contemporary Warship with advanced techno
Swooping low over the Firth of Clyde a Hawk jet banks as it approaches Ailsa Craig, preparing to make another pass of HMS Blyth. It’s just one action-packed episode from the largest military exercise in Europe, now approaching its climax in and off Scotland. Whilst much of the media attention is foc