On 13 March 2014, EU Naval Force warship, ESPS Tornado departed Operation Atalanta’s patrol areas off the Somali coast after completing 105 days and is now heading for her home port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. As the ship set a navigation course for Spain, the Rear Admiral Bléjean, who is the F
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Kidd, has been ordered to the Indian Ocean to search for the Malaysian missing plane, according to the Agence France-Presse. The search for the Malaysian lost flight was switched to the Indian Ocean amid reports that the plane kept “pinging” a sat
A successful two weeks of intense anti-submarine warfare training between Navy and Air Force in the Western Australian Exercise Area concluded last Friday. Two AP-3C Orions from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), three S-70B2 Seahawks, and HMA Ships Toowoomba and Sheean were joined by a P-8A P
As of Thursday 13 March, the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel, ESPS Relámpago joined the EU Naval Force to carry out counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia. ESPS Relámpago has replaced ESPS Tornado as the Spanish contribution to Operation Atalanta. ESPS Tornado is now on her way back home.
While an end to the crisis in Ukraine had proven elusive thus far, a peaceful solution remained possible, the Secretary-General’s senior United Nations political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council yesterday. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, emphasized, how
On 6 March 2014, during the last port visit of the EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta flagship, FS Siroco, the Force Commander, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean was invited to brief Seychellois government and administration representatives and diplomats on the EU’s counter piracy operation. The e
Defence and security company Saab is expanding its activities in the naval arena. Saab is therefore recruiting new employees to strengthen and develop its naval capabilities. Today, Saab is one of the leading companies within the naval arena. It is a provider to the Swedish Navy, the major contrac
During the last week, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warships FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado have carried out several ‘Friendly Approaches’ in the Gulf of Aden. In addition to patrols in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocea
In a combined French and Australian operation, naval ships seized and destroyed almost 650 kilograms of cannabis resin hidden aboard a smuggling skiff in the Red Sea. After HMAS Darwin intercepted the skiff, her boarding party discovered the cannabis resin in 120 plastic packages concealed in hess
The U.S. Dod issued contract modifications yesterday to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of two fiscal year 2014 Littoral Combat Ships each. The amount of funds added under the block buy c
Austal Limited (Austal) has been awarded a contract from a naval customer in the Middle East for the design, construction and integrated logistics support of two 72 metre High Speed Support Vessels (HSSVs). The value of the contract is approximately US$124.9 million. Austal will construct the HSSV
Republic of Korea Ship (ROKS) Won San has rolled out the red carpet for Royal Australian Navy sailors during the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Counter Measures and Diving Exercise 2014 (MCMEX 14) in New Zealand. Members of the Australian MCM Diving Detachment, drawn from HMAS Diamant
Russia Sinks Ship to Block Ukrainian Navy Ships The Russian Navy Ochakov Kara-class cruiser was sunk last night to block the Ukrainian Navy ships deployed in Novoozerne, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in a press release today. The information was confirmed by the Ukrainian military of the So
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Company $350 million to increase its procurement of Standard Missile-3 Block IB missiles from 8 to 44. The additional funding increases the FY14 award to $506 million for the procurement of 44 Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missiles. The SM-3 is desi
