Australian government-owned shipbuilder ASC on Monday opened new facilities in Henderson that will increase the efficiency of the maintenance and sustainment of Australia’s submarine fleet. The $13 million upgrade enables the co-location of essential facilities, which will deliver a significant incr
Italian Navy Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori took over command of the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta from Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado during a ceremony in Djibouti on July 27. EU NAVFOR’s deputy operation commander, Rear-Admiral Alfonso Pérez de Nanclares (Spanish Navy), also
U.S. Navy’s Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group was joined by a U.S. destroyer and four Australian frigates to test elements of the up-gunned ESG concept during two weeks of drills at exercise Talisman Saber 2017. The field training exercise (FTX) component of TS17 tested a combined and join
The European Union migrant-rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea has been extended and will now run until December 31, 2018. EU leaders reached the agreement on July 25 after Italy curbed its protest against how the migrant crisis was being handled by other member states. The extension was expecte
Belgian Navy frigate BNS Louise Marie concluded her deployment to the EU-led migrant crisis operation in the Mediterranean Sea setting sail home on July 23. The multi-purpose frigate left operation Sophia after the scheduled 34 days of duties, despite calls for the frigate’s earlier withdrawal due t
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta returned to her home port of Fleet Base West in Rockingham, Western Australia, on July 23, completing the longest Middle Eastern deployment of an Australian Navy vessel since the first Gulf War. Senator for Western Australia, Linda Reynolds; Commander Austra
USS Essex recently took to sea with a new coat of paint developed by researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for the exterior topsides of Navy surface ships. Until April of 2017, NRL’s new single-component (1K) polysiloxane coating had only been tested on 400-800 sq.ft. areas of ship
Taking charge of the largest amphibious assault conducted by an Australian force in 70 years as part of exercise Talisman Saber presented an opportunity to shine for the Amphibious Task Group Headquarters. The assault, led from amphibious asssault ship HMAS Canberra, was a significant milestone in t
Peru is hosting naval forces from 19 countries for this year’s edition of the annual exercise UNITAS. Scheduled to conclude on July 26, the exercise will be commanded by Peruvian navy Rear Adm. Alberto Alcala. Participating countries include the United States, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Aust
Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale class patrol boats joined their much larger counterparts for the northern component of exercise Talisman Sabre proving they can play a role in complex war drills. The Darwin-based HMAS Bathurst and Broome took on a superior force including guided missile frigates HMA
Following an EU Committee report into the operation Sophia which said the undertaking is not working, EU members seem less willing to continue the mission. The mission which, as the report says, was failing to deliver its mandate of disrupting the migrant smugglers’ networks, was supposed to be exte
Royal Navy sailors and marines exercised with their counterparts from other countries during a five-month annual French naval deployment to the Indian Ocean and Far East. UK forces joined the French Navy assault ship FS Mistral in March as part of the Jeanne d’Arc 2017 French task group, which has v
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps leaders gathered in Pearl Harbor last month for the “Joint Strike Fighter Sustainment Summit” in anticipation of the first shipboard deployment of the F-35B Lightning II. The attendees focused on planning and preparing the logistical support for the F-35B Lightning II’s fi
A project to repair and upgrade two Sydney wharves used by the Royal Australian Navy has received green light to start. The project, called Stage One, is aimed at addressing significant condition, capacity and compliance issues with two existing wharves at Garden Island (East), Sydney, New South Wal
