Commander of Australia’s Joint Task Force 633 (JTF633) in the Middle East Region (MER) Major General Craig Orme, AM, CSC has officially transferred command to Rear Admiral Trevor Jones, AO, CSC, RAN. The Transfer of Authority ceremony was held this week at Camp Baird, Australia’s main headquarters i
Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
Royal Navy’s vessels will soon have its first permanent naval base in the Middle East since UK formally withdrew from Bahrain and Sharjah in 1971. In the margins of the 10th IISS Manama Dialogue, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond signed a new defence arrangement with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin
The NATO counter-piracy flagship of Task Force 508 (CTF 508) HDMS ESBERN SNARE and the Royal Navy of Oman corvette RNOV AL-RASIKH on November 24th conducted a naval exercise in the Arabian Sea off Salalah to improve interoperability and strengthen relations between the forces. The exercise focused m
Seven Royal Australian Navy members left Australia this week to embed with the Combined Maritime Force’s Canadian led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150) in the Middle East. From December 2014 to April 2015, the Navy team will work in CTF150 to deter, disrupt and defeat international terrorist organisa
The flagship of the EU Naval Force, ITS Andrea Doria, is visiting Dubai in support of the UAE Counter-Piracy Week. The UAE Counter-Piracy Week begins with the working groups and plenary session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), which is currently chaired by the Europea
USS Milius to Deploy to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans The guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) is scheduled to depart Oct. 20 on an independent deployment to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Sweden Still Investigating Missing Submarine The Swedish Naval Forces have spent the we
NRF Warships to Test Rapid Response Readiness A large fleet of warships from NATO’s Response Force (NRF) sailed from ports across Europe yesterday to take part in the maritime component of Exercise NOBLE JUSTIFICATION in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, which will encompass the anti submari
USCG Commanding Officer of Activities Europe Temporarily Relieved The US Coast Guard temporarily relieved Capt. James B. Robertson, commanding officer of Activities Europe, Tuesday due to loss of confidence in his abilities to command. US Navy, Australia Order TIH Systems for Submarines DRS Laurel
On 28 September, EU Naval Force Flagship ITS Andrea Doria arrived in Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat, Oman for a busy 4 day port visit. The port visit coincided with a port visit of the flagship of NATO Operation Ocean Shield, HDMS Esbern Snare and a visit of the Force Commander of Combined Maritime Forc
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) resumed exercises in support of NATO’s counter-terrorism Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR (OAE) this week. SNMG2 currently consists of USS LEYTE GULF (CG 55), TCG KEMALREIS (F 247), FGS NIEDERSACHSEN (F 208), HMCS TORONTO (FFH 333) and ESPS ALMIRANTE JUAN DE BORBON
U.S. military forces and partner nations, including the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, undertook military action against ISIL terrorists in Syria overnight, using a mix of fighter, bomber, remotely piloted aircraf
VIDEO: US Navy Hires Kongsberg for NSM Testing Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KONGSBERG) is contracted by the US Navy to test fire KONGSBERG’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) under the Foreign Comparative Testing program. SINKEX Units Sink Former USS Fresno Ships
Marine Helicopter Crashes in the Gulf of Aden A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) crashed at 2:00 p.m. (GMT), yesterday, at sea in the Gulf of Aden as it attempted to land aboard USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19). HMS Queen Elizabeth Unde
