A total of 20 ships from NATO member countries are set to take part in the NATO’s, Norway-hosted, exercise Cold Response. The operational phase of the exercise will start on March 3 in Trondheim, Norway. Most of the ships from Norway, Denmark, England, France, Poland, The Netherlands, and Spain have
Australian Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence unveiled the long-awaited 2016 Australian Defence White Paper February 25. The plan is set to increase defence spending by AUS $29.9 billion (approx. US $21.5 billion) over the following ten years. A Defence Industry Policy Statement (DIPS) and a
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Navy) will be taking part in the U.S. Navy-organized international maritime exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), with a yet to be determined number of units. Wu Qian, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed this at a regular briefing despite of recently hei
The Pacific arm of the Russian Navy fleet is set to participate in this year’s iteration of the Indonesian-organized multilateral exercise Komodo 2016, the navy confirmed. The second Komodo exercise will be held in April 2016, in Padang – West Sumatera, Siberut and Sapura islands, Indonesia. Represe
Norwegian maritime services company Bergen Group Services has been awarded a one-year extension of the contract for the ship technical maintenance of the Norwegian Navy’s Fridtjof Nansen frigates. The company said the contract has an estimated value of NOK 70 (approx. $8.1) million. The project invo
Royal Marines have tested their skills and know-how by fast roping from a helicopter onto HMS St Albans flightdeck. Using St Albans’ Merlin helicopter, one by one members of the ship’s Royal Marines Boarding Team (RMBT) carried out one of their most dangerous training exercises – descending from a h
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg returned to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt on February 23 after an eight-and-a-half month deployment and participation in two international exercises. On Operation REASSURANCE, HMCS Winnipeg served with two Standing NATO Maritime Groups, supported NA
French multinational defence contractor Thales has been contracted by the Estonian Ministry of Defence to upgrade three Estonian Navy’s Sandown-class Single Role Minehunters. Under the contract, the company will fit its Sonar 2193 system as well as its latest generation M-CUBE command and control sy
Canadian officials announced February 22 that a new expert advisor has been elected to assist on the $26.2 billion “Canadian Surface Combatant” shipbuilding programme under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Through the NSPS, the Government is supporting the renewal of the Canada
Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 8 Allied nations met on the Central Mediterranean Sea for Dynamic Manta 2016 (DYMA 16), NATO’s submarine warfare exercise which began February 22 off the Sicilian coast. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the U
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Atalaya (P-74) set sail from Ferrol, Spain for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in support of the Spanish Defense Diplomacy Plan. These deployments, organized by the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) and the Spanish Navy, are inte
The U.S. Navy representative in South Korea officially opened its headquarters in Busan, Korea on February 19. Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK) conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and thereby marked the start of what the U.S. Navy called “a new era of U.S. and Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN
A Lithuanian Navy Lieutenant was awarded an Operation Atalanta Medal for his service as part of the EU NAVFOR-Atalanta, European Union operation for countering piracy and armed robbery at sea. “Be proud of this medal, it is recognition of your outstanding commitment, professionalism and efforts,” th
Having departed NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 1 (SNMCMG 1), Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Grimsby returned to its home port of HM Naval Base Clyde on Friday, February 12. The Sandown Class Mine Counter Measures Vessel (MCMV) was operating off the coast of Denmark, working alongside intern
