Defense Strategies
UK: Apache Destroys Libyan Boats
Two boats used by Colonel Gaddafi’s special forces were blown out of the water and an anti-aircraft battery destroyed by Apache gunships operating from HMS Ocean. In the latest action involving the Army Air Corps helicopters aboard Britain’s biggest warship, the Apaches were scrambled to intercept h
Russia: BSF Returns from Bold Monarch 2011
The Bold Monarch 2011 joint submarine rescue exercise finished on June 10 off Spain. Russia was represented by Black Sea Fleet (BSF) assets – rescue ship Epron, salvage tug Shakhter, mooring lighter KIL-158, and diesel submarine Alrosa. Throughout ten days the joint force practiced search-and-rescue
UK: HMS York Comes Home After Five-Month Deployment
HMS York is on the last leg of her five-month deployment to the southern oceans after passing through the world’s greatest manmade waterway. After the bulk of her deployment around the Falklands, Britain’s fastest destroyer warship shifted oceans to the Pacific to begin a seven-and-a-half-week passa
US Navy to Train RN, RAF Pilots
The skills needed to operate the future Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be honed and perfected with the help of the US Navy, the heads of the US and Royal Navy confirmed on Monday. Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations for the US Navy, and Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, First Sea
Russia: Admiral Panteleyev, Fotiy Krylov Return to Vladivostok
Pacific Fleet (PF) task unit consisting of large ASW ship Admiral Panteleyev and salvage tug Fotiy Krylov returned to home base Vladivostok from long-range cruise on June 14; the cruise commander is Capt 1 rank Viktor Sokolov. PF top-ranking officers, city officials, representatives of veteran and p
FGS Niedersachsen Destroys Pirate Skiffs
On the morning of 10 June, the EU NAVFOR German warship FGS Niedersachsen detected a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG) whilst conducting a routine patrol in the Southern Somali Basin. The PAG, which is suspected of carrying out a number of attacks on merchant vessels in the area, consisted of a fi
UK: Royal Navy Participates in NATO Exercise Bold Monarch
Royal Navy personnel have joined 2,000 sailors from 13 nations for the world’s largest submarine rescue exercise, off the south-eastern tip of Spain. The ten days of NATO Exercise Bold Monarch witnessed an international effort to bring trapped submariners from four boats to the surface. The exercise
Russian Submarine SSK Alrosa Works with U.S. SRDRS for First Time
A historic international milestone was achieved when the Russian submarine, SSK Alrosa, mated with a U.S. submarine rescue system during exercise Bold Monarch 2011, June 7. The coupling of the U.S. Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS) and the Russian submarine established an inte
Monterey Sailors Integrate European Phased Adaptive Approach in Romania
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), arrived in Constanta for a scheduled three-day port visit as part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), June 6. During the visit, U.S. and Romanian dignitaries were given the opportunity to learn about Monterey’s ballistic mis
Royal Navy Minehunter en Route to Libya
Royal Navy minehunter HMS Bangor left for the Mediterranean yesterday to relieve HMS Brocklesby in supporting NATO forces off the coast of Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. HMS Bangor is one of seven Sandown Class minehunters, and is based at HM Naval Base Clyde in Fa
PE-11, Multi-National Maritime Exercise Between U.S., North African and European Naval Forces, Begins
Phoenix Express 2011 (PE-11), a multi-national maritime exercise between U.S., North African and European naval forces, conducted the first day of at sea boarding exercises, June 7. Five ships got underway from Souda Bay, Greece, on June 6, joining one already at sea, bringing together six of the ei
Sweden: Saab Signs Letter of Intent with Tactical Communications Group
Saab has signed a Letter of Intent with the leading supplier of tactical data link software solutions, Tactical Communications Group, TCG. Within the partnership Saab and TCG will collaborate on technical, marketing and business development initiatives designed to bring innovative new C4I solutions
US State Department Publishes Information on Russia’s Maritime Nuclear Force
In accordance with official data exchange under START-3 treaty, the US State Department published information on numbers of nuclear warheads available to the Russian Federation and the US, as well as amount of deployed and non-deployed carriers. According to the promulgated data, as of Feb 5, 2011 R
Russia: SSBN Yury Dolgoruky to Launch Bulava in June
Fifteenth (first in 2011) test launch of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Bulava for the first time will be carried out by its standard carrier – newest Project 955 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Yury Dolgoruky, said official spokesman for Russian defense ministry Col.