Aviation
Spanish ESPS Relampago returns from 6-month counter-piracy mission
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Relámpago returned home on March 16, concluding a six-month deployment to operation Atalanta, a EU-led counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia. The crew sailed over 28,000 nautical miles, and has conducted over 50 approaches, greeting Somali fishermen an
USS Wasp on track for Japan homeport change
U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) has reached a half-way point during its planned maintenance availability (PMA), the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) said March 15. Since the commencement of Wasp’s PMA in January, a considerable amount of work has gone into gettin
US destroyer seizes 270 kg of heroin in Arabian Sea
U.S. Navy destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) seized 270 kilograms of heroin from a small stateless dhow in the international waters of the Arabian Sea March 13. The dhow was intercepted after having been tracked by a helicopter from the Royal Navy’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Victoria. Both Laboon
Report: Japan to deploy helicopter carrier on three-month South China Sea mission
Japan is sending its 24,000-ton helicopter carrier JS Izumo (DDH-183) on a three-month deployment to the South China Sea, Reuters said in a report on Monday. During its mission, the helicopter carrier will visit Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the annual Malabar na
US Coast Guard cutter Spencer returns home with $92M of seized cocaine
U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spencer returned to their homeport in Boston, on Monday following a 74-day counter-drug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. During their patrol, the crew interdicted four drug-laden vessels, resulting in the seizure of approximately 1,400 kilograms (3,080 lbs.) of cocaine wo
HMS Monmouth visits Gibraltar on deployment’s first stop
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth made a port call in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar on the first mission stop of her nine-month deployment to the Middle East. Accompanied by HMS Sabre and Scimitar from the RN Gibraltar Squadron, and with her Wildcat airborne to scour the skies,
Royal Navy’s Lynx helicopters fly their final mission
With the decommissioning of Royal Navy Lynx helicopters set for March 31, 2017, the last Lynx to deploy – Flight 208 – returned home together with HMS Portland on March 10. Commander (Cdr) Phil Richardson the Commanding Officer of 815 Naval Air Station welcomed 208 Flight back into the fold amongst
US, Japanese navy ships conclude drills off Guam
U.S. Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships completed their participation in this year’s bilateral training exercise MultiSail 17 on March 10. The six-day exercise consisted of surface action group maneuvers, anti-submarine training, and various other events that tested warfight
Royal Navy officially names HMS Forth
The UK Royal Navy today formally named HMS Forth, the first of its five new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels. The 90-metre warship, which will be tasked with vital counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling and maritime defence duties, was named HMS Forth in honour of the Scottish river in a cerem
US Navy destroyer assits in medical evacuation of Pakistani Navy sailor
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) assisted in the medical evacuation of a Pakistani Navy sailor on March 6. The sailor, assigned to Zulfiquar-class frigate PNS Aslat was in need of medical attention. “After finding out the status of the patient, I coordinated with my corpsme
Slovak military police train for Mediterranean Sea deployment in Germany
Members of the Slovak military police have traveled to Germany to prepare for their deployment to the EUNAVFOR-led Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia. A team of 10 have been training with German Navy Marines (Seebatallion) since January 30 and will spend the rest of this month preparing for the depl
NATO’s prime anti-submarine warfare drill starts next week in the Med
Dynamic Manta 2017, NATO’s annual anti-submarine warfare exercise, is set to start on Monday next week, off the coast of Sicily, Italy. The two-week drill will gather ships and sailors from ten allied countries for ASW training in the central Mediterranean. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spa
Warships start underway portion of Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon
Warships from NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 2 (SNMCMG2) joined the underway portion of the Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon that is taking place between March 5 and 13. The exercise as a whole is hosted by Romania this year and will include more than 1,500 sailors and 17 warships from s
HMS Iron Duke returns to training after maintenance
Royal Navy frigate HMS Iron Duke set sail for the first time this year having spent the winter in her home port undergoing a sustained period of maintenance. The Type 23 frigate, which spent the first half of 2016 on NATO duties in the Baltic and waters of northern Europe, is now headed for operatio