The Royal Netherlands Navy’s Karel Doorman-class frigate HNLMS Van Amstel is joining NATO’s fight against people-smugglers in the Aegean Sea. The De Schelde Group-built frigate will integrate into NATO’s Standing Nato Mine Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2). The ship was already at sea and is now sailing tow
Soldiers from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Republic of Korea, along with the Bonhomme Richards strike group and ROK Navy vessels started exercise Sang Yong 16 in the Republic of Korea on March 9. Ssang Yong, which translates to “Twin Dragons,” is a biennial combined exercise conducted by Nav
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, flagship of NATO’s SNMG 2 was the first ship to enter the area of activity for a first patrol around the Greek island of Lesbos last weekend. In the last days, NATO expanded the area of activity into the territorial waters of Turkey and Greece, in close co
Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Cerberus training facility located south of Melbourne, Australia is set to receive a new Kongsberg K-Sim Engine simulator model. The new model will run on the existing Kongsberg K-Sim Engine desktop simulator the Norwegian company delivered to HMAS Cerberus in 2013. The
Having sailed 23000 nautical miles safeguarding the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle in the Middle East, the German frigate FGS Augsburg has bid farewell to the international group and headed home. During the group’s deployment in the Persian Gulf, French aircraft conducted 23 reconnai
Royal Navy’s amphibious landing ship royal fleet auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay together with three border force cutters will join the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea that aims to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey to Europe, the UK Prime Minister said ahead of an EU sumit. RFA Mounts Bay, supported
Japanese Ministry of Defence on March 7 received the seventh Soryu-class submarine, ‘Jinryu’ in a ceremnoy held at the MHI Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works’ No.3 pier in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The Jinryu, which translates to “benevolent dragon”, is the fourth submarine to be built by Mitsubishi Heav
Ships of the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 1 recently concluded fire and flood control training in the North of Germany. The exercise took place at the Einsatzausbildungszentrum Schadensabwehr (Combat Training Centre for Damage Control or EAZS) in Neustadt, about 30 miles southeast of Ki
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Darwin has uncovered and seized a large weapons cache after boarding a small fishing vessel approximately 170 nautical miles (313 kilometres) off the coast of Oman. The frigate’s crew initially conducted a flag verification boarding. After assessing the vessel to b
UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on March 3 announced additional £642 (approx. $907.2M) million of investment for the Successor submarine programme. New parts and facilities, as well as further design work will be funded by the latest investment which will help to progress work on the four new
Sailors onboard the U.S. Navy dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47) held a change of command ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, March 1. With the traditional exchange of salutes, Cmdr. Thomas S. Stephens turned over command of Rushmore to Cmdr. Sarah H. DeGroot, who had previously served as the shi
The new LX(R) line of U.S. Navy amphibious combat ships could be built faster than the LPD line and could be procured as early as 2018, a U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing indicated on March 2. U.S. Senator Thad Cochran chaired the hearing to review the FY2017 budget request fo
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin has started patrols under Operation Manitou having replaced sister ship HMAS Melbourne. The crew of HMAS Darwin has benefited from mission-specific training in the Kingdom of Bahrain, prior to setting out on the ship’s first p
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate HMAS Melbourne returned to her Sydney homeport on February 28 after 203 days of deployment and five narcotics seizures. In the five interceptions, the frigate seized a total of 977 kg of heroin valued at approximately $390 million. Melbou
