Defense Strategies
UK Divers Show Skills in NATO’s Northern Challenge
A team of Royal Navy Clearance Divers have blasted their way through a highly-charged NATO exercise in Iceland – demonstrating their explosive expertise. The team of 12 bomb disposal operatives from Southern Diving Group joined around 200 Tri-Service colleagues from 14 NATO and Partner for Peace nat
SNMG2 Sails into Port of Barcelona
Over the weekend, the ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) entered the port of Barcelona, Spain, for a routine port visit, following a period of support to the counter-terrorism Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR (OAE). SNMG2 currently consists of the flagship German frigate FGS HAMBURG, the Tu
HMS Ocean Prepares for Exercise Corsican Lion
Royal Navy Fleet flagship HMS Ocean has arrived in Toulon, France, for final preparations ahead of Exercise Corsican Lion. The exercise, part of the Royal Navy’s Cougar 15 deployment, provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the ship’s role as an amphibious assault ship. HMS Ocean carries the UK’s
RFA Lyme Bay Assist in Bahamas Island Evacuation
Inhabitants of a remote community on tiny Crooked Island – 250 miles from the Bahamian capital Nassau – were flown to safety as part of a hurricane relief effort led by amphibious ship RFA Lyme Bay. Sailors, soldiers, Royal Marines and airmen all weighed into the relief effort on the Island after ho
SNMG1 to Show Its Skills in JOINT WARRIOR
Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), led by Portuguese Navy Rear Admiral Alberto Correia, recently departed from three different ports in Scotland for the sea phase of the UK-led Exercise JOINT WARRIOR 15-2. While the scenario of JOINT WARRIOR is fictitious, the importance of realistic and effect
Trident Juncture 2015 Underway
Exercise Trident Juncture 2015, NATO’s biggest and most ambitious exercise in over a decade, started on October 3 in Mons, Belgium. Military and civilian Staff of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, reinforced by augmenting personnel from various commands throughout NATO, launched the Command Post
US Osprey Lands on HMS Ocean
A US Marine Corps Osprey has landed on the flight deck of HMS Ocean for the first time in over five years. The landing was the first step in demonstrating the partnership between the amphibious helicopter platform and the US Marines Corps (USMC) ahead of the major NATO exercise, Trident Juncture, wh
MARCOM Hosts JMSDF Chief of Staff
The commander of NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, welcomed Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Chief of Staff Admiral Tomohisa Takei and his staff to MARCOM headquarters recently. The officials gathered for a briefing on NATO operations and discuss opportunit
Prince of Wales at the Start of Joint Warrior
His Royal Highness (HRH) the Prince of Wales joined thousands of international service personnel for the start of the UK-led military exercise Joint Warrior. Joint Warrior is a multinational exercise linked to the NATO exercise program. It is hosted in the UK and is one of the largest tri-service an
Exercise Northern Coasts 2015 Concludes
NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) and Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) have completed their participation in Exercise NORTHERN COASTS 2015 on Sept. 29. Surface ships, a submarine, and several air assets from 16 different nations successfully compl
Largest British Warships to Lead Cougar 15
Two of the Royal Navy’s largest warships have set sail from Plymouth to lead the Royal Navy’s Cougar 15 Deployment. HMS Ocean deployed with Royal Marines from 45 Commando and Merlin, Apache and Chinook helicopters from the Fleet Air Arm, Army Air Corps and RAF, where the Navy’s helicopter carrier wi
Canadian Navy Ships Head for European Coasts
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Halifax departed Norfolk, Virginia, September 21, 2015, to join HMC ships Athabaskan and Montréal, as well as United States Naval Ships William McLean and United States Ship The Sullivans. The ships are currently transiting the North Atlantic Ocean and will be cond
Spanish Sub Mistral Back in Cartagena
Spanish submarine Mistral has just returned to her homeport in Cartagena, Spain, after participating in NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Dynamic Manta 15. The manoeuvers were organized by COMSUBNATO and monitored by his Staff from Northwood, UK. The exercise took place off the coast of S
HMS Grimsby Removes Six Historic Mines
In the midst of a week long NATO exercise the Royal Navy vessel has helped find and recover six historic mines. Faslane based, HMS Grimsby joined fellow members of NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) for Exercise Northern Coast 15. For a week the minehunter worked with vessels from Belgium,