USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), returned to its homport in Gaeta, Italy, July 3, following a two-month deployment to participate in community relations events, military exercises and scheduled port visits. During the deployment, Mount Whitney made port visits to Lisbon, Portugal; Ventspils, Latvia; and
A Royal Navy warship has returned from an annual multi-national exercise off the coast of Brest where she was joined by ships from France, Russia and the US. HMS Sutherland, a Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate, took part in gunnery drills, fought off multiple simulated attacks and practised evacuating
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Philip Breedlove visited the Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, United Kingdom on Tuesday, 2 July 2013. This was General Breedlove’s first visit to HQ MARCOM since he was appointed as NATO’s top military commander on 14 May 2013. This was a
Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are playing a vital role as key contributors to Pacific Partnership, a United States-sponsored humanitarian and civic assistance mission to help improve the lives of people in the Pacific Region. This year, Pacific Partnership will deliver medical, dental, ve
HMS Lancaster has continued her regional engagement programme in the Caribbean with a visit to the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos. The Type 23 frigate is on a six month deployment visiting British Overseas Territories, interacting with local populations and displaying Royal Navy
BMT Defence Services Ltd, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has announced that it has been confirmed as design contractor for the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation’s (NDLO) logistics and support vessel (LSV), supported by sister companies BMT Reliability Consultants Ltd and BMT Isis Ltd. The new
Last week, whilst operating off the coast of Somalia, EU Naval Force flagship Portuguese Frigate NRP Álvares Cabral and French frigate FS Guépratte both conducted a Replenishment At Sea (RAS) with RFA Fort Victoria. A RAS enables warships to replenish fuel, food and stores at sea without having to r
The Spanish AEGIS frigate BLAS DE LEZO (F-103), flag ship of COMSNMG-2 Rear Admiral Eugenio Díaz del Rio, will soon participate in an air defence and ballistic missile defence (BMD) exercise with the US Navy destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-72) in Mediterranean waters. Both ships share the AEGIS combat syst
The Telecommunications and Information Systems Division (DIVCIS) of the Spanish Naval Staff has given the go-ahead to the Cyber-defense Section. This department substitutes the Coordination and Security Section. It also takes on the planning, management and control of the military cyber-defense with
The Finnish Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD), deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta since March 2013, is tasked with the protection of the World Food Programme (WFP) ship MV Caroline Scan. Embarked on the Caroline scan around the clock, the AVPD ensure
During the past week the NATO Shipping Centre received reports on two incidents involving fishing vessels in the High Risk Area. The first is a report of a pirated fishing vessel, while the second incident appears to be a SOLAS related accident. The first report confirms that pirates continue to dis
Back in 2011, a total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations off the coast of Libya, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Ta
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) has a new German Commander. Captain Marco Von Koelln (German Navy) handed over command of SNMCMG2 to Commander Mathias Seipel (German Navy) on Monday, 24 June 2013. The ceremony took place at the Hellenic Naval Base in Souda Bay, Crete, and was pr
On Saturday afternoon (22 June), EU Naval Force Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro and Chinese Navy warship CNS Mianyang, which are both conducting counter piracy operations, met at sea in the choppy waters of the Gulf of Aden. The aim of the meeting was to enable CNS Mianyang to take over escort duties o
