Defense Strategies
ESPS Santa Maria relieves ESPS Tornado in Operation Atalanta
EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta has welcomed back the Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria. The ship was previously deployed on Op Atalanta in 2011 and will be conducting counter-piracy patrols over the coming five months. ESPS Santa Maria has an embarked Seahawk helicopter on board, allowing her to
Combined Maritime Forces and EU NAVFOR bolster friendship
Rear Admiral Ken Cheong, Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, recently visited the EU NAVFOR’s operation Atalanta flagship, FGS Bayern in Salalah in the Gulf of Aden. Radm Cheong, who works for Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), met the Force Commander EU NAVFOR, Radm Jan Kaack, onboard FGS Baye
German dive support ship heads for mine clearance maneuver off Lithuania
German Navy’s diver support ship FGS Rottweil (M 1061) set sail for Klaipeda, Lithuania on May 12. The vessel and its crew will join minesweepers from different nation to take part in NATO’s ‘Open Spirit’ maneuver. Open Spirit arose from from the exercises of the joint mine countermeasures squadron
Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System opens in Romania
The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Romania was deemed as operationally certified in a ceremony held in Deveselu, May 12, and thereby marked a key milestone to complete Phase II of the European Phased Adaptive Approach. This ballistic missile defense system represents an increase in the capab
Spanish minesweeper joins NATO’s standing maritime group
Spanish Navy’s Segura-class minesweeper ESPS Turia will join NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 which operates in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Crewed by 44 sailors and commanded by Captain Enrique Miguel García Morera, the ship set sail from Naval Base Cartagena, Spain on May 12 and i
Raytheon lands Evolved Sea Sparrow missile contract
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems a $76,1 million contract for the procurement of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) Block I production material. Raytheon’s ESSM missile is an international upgrade of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile. The missile was developed by
German Bremen-class frigate changes command
German Navy’s Bremen-class frigate is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony on May 13, 2016. Due to construction works at the navy yard in Wilhelmshaven the ceremony will take place at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The 4th Frigate Squadron Commander, Captain at Sea, Thorste
Preparations for ‘Unmanned Warrior’ underway
The Royal Navy has hosted a number of organizations working on unmanned maritime systems for the main planning conference for October’s Unmanned Warrior. The demonstration of unmanned systems overlaid onto the twice-yearly multinational Joint Warrior exercise staged off western Scotland will allow t
Denmark contributes to NATO’s counter piracy mission off Somalia
A small team of about 20 Royal Danish Air Force officers and enlisted men fly along the coast of Somalia, verifying shipping activity, distinguishing legitimate maritime traffic from suspected pirate vessels and identifying probable pirate activities off the coastline of Somalia. The crew operates a
German Navy submarine wraps up NATO stint
Having concluded her deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1, German Navy submarine U 34 returned to her homeport in Eckernförde, Germany. The Type 212 A submarine set sail for Scotland with the ‘Foxtrott’ crew at the end of March. She joined SNMG 1 to participate in the international exercis
Royal Navy to test integration of unmanned systems
The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded Qinetiq a £1m ($1.45m) contract to demonstrate the integration of unmanned systems into Royal Navy operations. Under the contract with the Mine countermeasures and Hydrographic Capability (MHC) team in the MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), QinetiQ wil
ITS Euro’s sailors visit children from Dar es Salaam
During a recent port visit to Dar es Salaam, sailors from Operation Atalanta’s Italian warship, ITS Euro, took the opportunity to visit local children. The crew members arrived at the Kindergarten in Kawe and the Vinvunguti Orphanage with supplies of food, medicine and learning materials. The childr
Royal Navy welcomes newly appointed Commander
The Royal Navy has welcomed its newly appointed Commander of the Maritime Reserves at a handover ceremony in Portsmouth. Commodore Martin Quinn, a Royal Navy Reservist, takes up the role from outgoing Commodore Andrew Jameson, who has been appointed Commodore Naval Legal Services. The ceremony took
ITS Euro trains with Tanzanian Navy
During a recent port visit to Dar Es Salaam, Operation Atalanta’s Italian warship, ITS Euro, conducted a series of naval exercises with men and women from the Tanzanian Navy. Over the course of three days, the Italian sailors trained alongside their Tanzanian counterparts, practising a range of skil