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SNMCMG1 ships visit Hull
Ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) under command of Commander Peter Ramboer of the Belgian Navy arrived in Hull, UK on January 26. The group made a routine port visit to Hull as part of their annual schedule of operations. While in Hull, officers made courtesy
RFA Cardigan Bay hosts US Navy medics for exercise Azraq Serpent
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Cardigan Bay hosted personnel from the US and Royal Navy for exercise Azraq Serpent 18 (AS18). The five-day exercise started January 14 and was aimed at developing interoperability between the two partners across the medical domain in the US 5th fleet area of operations. T
Royal Navy seeks unmanned, underwater technology ideas
Looking for new technologies to improve the operation of unmanned underwater vehicles, the Royal Navy used the Maritime Enterprise Innovation Scotland Conference (MEISC) to set challenges for developers. During the conference, held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on January 24, two speci
Royal Navy officially receives first River-class OPV HMS Forth
HMS Forth, the first of five second-batch River-class offshore patrol vessels to be built for the Royal Navy, was officially received by the UK defense ministry on Thursday. Forth will be commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet at her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base later this year. UK defense pro
Romanian minesweeper ROS Lt. Lupu Dinescu joins SNMCMG2 in Black Sea
The Romanian Navy has deployed one its four Musca-class minesweepers to join NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 as it operates in the Black Sea. SNMCMG2, with the Royal Navy’s HMS Enterprise at the helm, transited Bosphorus on January 24 and is currently on a Black Sea patrol. In addition
France, Italy, UK renew Eurosam missile support contract
France, Italy and the United Kingdom have renewed an in-service support contract with Eurosam related to the upkeep of the land and naval systems in service with the three countries. The contract extension was awarded to Eurosam, a consortium between MBDA and Thales, by the European Organisation for
Estonia to host 2018 edition of international ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit
The Estonian naval forces are hosting this year’s edition of the international Baltic Sea ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit. The exercise is taking place from May 11 to 25 and will welcome 800 participants, the Estonian defense ministry announced following a January 23 planning conference which to
UMS SKELDAR joins OCEAN2020 project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer UMS SKELDAR has joined the European Defence Fund’s OCEAN2020 autonomous systems project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV, the company announced on January 22. UMS SKELDAR is joining the naval surveillance technology project alongside its partner Saab. OCEAN2020 is t
Spanish research ship ‘Hespérides’ starts second phase of Antarctic campaign
The Spanish Navy-operated polar research ship B.I.O. Hespérides has started the second phase of the 31st Spanish Antarctic Campaign after a three and a half-month voyage from her homeport in Cartagena. After making port calls in Mar de Plata and Ushuaia, the ship proceeded towards the Antarctic cont
Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown wraps up six months of NATO operations
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown arrived at its Halifax homeport on January 19, wrapping up a six-month deployment with NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG1). HMCS Charlottetown joined SNMG1 in August 2017, sailing in the Baltic Sea, Northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean S
US 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney visits Malta
The US Navy’s forward-deployed command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) pulled into Valletta, Malta, on January 19, 2018, for a scheduled port visit. During her time in Valletta, Mount Whitney is providing ship tours and enhancing relationships between the two countries. “The sailors and civilian mar
Major fire at Vladivostok submarine base is a “drill”, Russian Navy says
Video footage of smoke billowing near two submarines at the Russian submarine base in Vladivostok emerged on Sunday, but the navy says it is all part of a damage control exercise. According to Russian news agency Interfax, the press service of the Russian Pacific Fleet has denied earlier Russian med
US, France, Denmark, Germany help Royal Navy train for carrier strike group operations
The Royal Navy hosted a “multi-national fleet synthetic training group command exercise” recently at HMS Collingwood with the aim of preparing to work as part of a battlegroup with the country’s new aircraft carriers. Personnel from five Royal Navy ships took part in the latest validation exercise r
Canadian frigate HMCS St. John’s deploys to NATO SNMG1
Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS St. John’s departed Naval Station Halifax on January 16 to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. The bad weather delayed the frigate’s departure by two hours, but the crew are now en route to Europe where they will represent the Canadian contributi