The Royal Australian Navy is leading the world in bringing the new MRH90 ‘Taipan’ Multi-Role Helicopter into service at sea. The Navy’s soon-to-be-commissioned 808 Squadron has been conducting trials, testing, evaluation and training on the MRH90 Taipan helicopter since 2010. When 808 Squadron’s com
Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly AM MP today announced the first of 24 MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters has successfully completed its first test flight. The initial test flight occurred at Sikorsky’s Production Facility, Connecticut USA on 26 June 2013. It passed a range of tests includi
Exercise SEA LION 13 came to a conclusion on 28 June in waters off North Queensland. SEA LION 13 provided Australian Defence Force personnel with the chance to work closely together and develop the critical skills necessary for joint amphibious operations, including Humanitarian and Disaster Relief.
Nearly 100 years after France and Australia fought side by side on the Somme battlefields, HMAS Newcastle and FS Somme are united in their security efforts in the Middle East Area of Operation (MEAO). The two warships conducted coordinated maritime security operations over a five-day period in the S
U.S. 3rd Fleet’s Expeditionary Strike Group 3 (ESG 3) and I Marine Expeditionary Force’s (IMEF) 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade (1st MEB) along with coalition partners from Canada, New Zealand and Japan completed the multilateral amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz (DB13), June 28. The two-week exercise
Residents and users of Sydney Harbour may observe increased ship movements around Garden Island, as the Royal Australian Navy prepares for the International Fleet Review and the transition to a new Fleet of ships. Preparations include changes to mooring buoys located within Naval Waters to provide b
The Royal Australian Navy has joined forces with the United States Navy (USN) and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) to participate in a tri-lateral exercise, Pacific bond 2013, June 22-26. Pacific Bond is a multi-national naval exercise designed to advance participating nations’ military-to-
Medical staff onboard HMAS Choules have been honing their skills in a number of areas during Exercise Sea Lion 2013. A big part of the training being conducted by the MR2 (embarked medical team) and the ship’s medics involves Aeronautical Medical Evacuations. As the name suggests this involves a pat
Australian Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly AM MP today announced the disposal by sale of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) decommissioned ships HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla. Dr Kelly said the Navy vessels would be recycled by purchaser Southern Recycling LLC in the United States in a m
HMAS Sydney’s junior Officers were put through their paces under the watchful eye of the Ship’s Commanding Officer, CMDR Karl Brinckmann, in rainy weather off Japan when the ship joined up at sea with the United States Navy’s Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer USS Momsen. The exercise in bridgemanship wa
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft landed on Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) helicopter destroyer Hyuga (DDH 181) for the first time June 14. The landing aboard Hyuga was the culmination of extensive planning by Sailors and Marines from Commander, U.S. Third Fleet, Expedi
Exercise SEA LION 2013 got underway on June 10 as HMAS Choules slipped out to sea with a complement of more than 400 Army and Navy personnel onboard, and various pieces of equipment firmly secured on the vehicle deck. EX SEA LION 13, which is the first major joint amphibious exercise for the year, i
The commanding officer and crew of EU Naval Force warship ESPS Numancia have received a heartfelt thank you from the crew of chemical tanker MT Perla, after the Spanish frigate provided assistance to two seriously injured Filipino sailors after they suffered severe burns in a fire on board their mer
Australia’s HMAS Newcastle has provided medical treatment and evacuated two badly burned Filipino merchant seamen from a stricken oil tanker in the Somali Basin. The seamen from the Liberian registered Merchant Tanker Perla, were severely burned during a machinery fire which left the tanker powerles
