The Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship, HMS Bulwark, has welcomed her new commanding officer. Captain Nick Cooke-Priest assumed command of the Plymouth-based amphibious assault ship from Captain Dean Bassett. He joins at a particularly intensive time as the ship prepares for the forthcoming period of opera
HMS Dragon called at Tristan da Cunha – one of the most remote islands on the planet – on the latest stage of her Atlantic deployment. There is no land to the west for more than 2,000 miles, South Africa is 1,750 miles to the east and the nearest inhabited locality is another British Overseas [&hell
The Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm closed a chapter of its history on Thursday, 29 January as the training pipelines for Royal Navy Sea King Mk 4 and Lynx helicopters came to an end when 6 aircrew received their Wings from His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG. During the ceremony at the Royal [&helli
Two Royal Navy warships have received the military’s ultimate award for peace and goodwill for helping the people of the Philippines. First HMS Daring and later HMS Illustrious spent around a month helping devastated island communities rebuild their lives after the most powerful storm ever recorded.
A Commando Helicopter Force Merlin Mk3 aircraft, flown by CHF Aircrew from 28 (AC) Sqn based in RAF Benson, supported 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery training from their Royal Citadel base in Plymouth. With the weather conditions on the day poor at Plymouth and Dartmoor, cloud bases down to aro
On January 20, the HM Coastguard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel which was taking on water. The Iuda Naofa, a 23m Irish fishing vessel, was located 48 miles north of the Butt of Lewis. The Coastguard Rescue helicopter was requested to attend the scene and drop a salvage pump onto the Iuda Naofa
An independent audit found the cost of the department’s 11 biggest equipment programmes fell by £397 million in the past year. The defence equipment plan is an annual update to Parliament on the MOD’s spending plans over the next decade. The update sets out plans to spend around £163 billion on new
During a recent port visit to The Seychelles, the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, conducted a counter-piracy exercise called ‘Exchange 2015’ with members of the Seychelles Coast Guard and Maritime Police. The exercise was planned and coordinated with staff from EUCAP Nestor. One of the ma
The Royal Canadian Navy frigate, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton arrived yesterday in Lisbon, Portugal to join Standing NATO Maritime Forces as part of Operation REASSURANCE, Canada’s contribution to NATO-led assurance measures that promote security and stability in Central and Easter
The Italian Navy, along with the Icelandic Coast Guard, managed to rescue some 360 migrants who were left adrift at sea off Italy’s southern coast. Ezadeen, the ageing Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, had been left in stormy seas without fuel or electricity. Due to rough weather, the crew of the Iceland
Canadian Navy’s vessel HMCS Fredericton deployed on December 30 to join NATO’s Operation Reassurance. The ship will replace HMCS Toronto, which has been part of Standing NATO Maritime Forces since August 2014. Operation Reassurance refers to the military activities undertaken by the Canadian Armed F
USS Sampson (DDG 102) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search and recovery operations for the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501 and assisted in locating the crash debris field on December 29th. At the request of the Indonesian government, Sampson arrived on station in the Java Sea in the early af
Sailors, Airmen, Royal Marines and Medics are stepping up their efforts to help youngsters orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone – without even leaving their ship. The 350 Naval Servicemen and women aboard aid ship RFA Argus are rowing the distance from the ship’s home in Falmouth to Freetown – donating
Terma’s SCANTER 4100 radar system has been selected and ordered by BAE Systems for integration on board the Royal Navy’s three new River class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). The latest version of the SCANTER 4103 proven 2D Naval Air & Surface Surveillance Radar features the latest in software and po
