Having spent less than two months idle in the port during her routine maintenance period, the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour now rejoined the EUNAVFOR Med operation Sophia. The Italian light aircraft carrier ITS Garibaldi assumed Cavour’s role on November 25, 2015. Now that the original mission
In 2015 Swedish Navy joined an organization called the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI) formed by five EU nations in 2000. The initiators were France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The aim of this organization is to strengthen the interoperability of European forces and optimize and
The UK Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol ship has just completed a historic five week patrol to the East Antarctic and Ross Sea. HMS Protector is the first Royal Navy, or UK Government, vessel to have visited the region in 80 years or to have traveled so far south having dipped below 77 degrees latitude. Her
Spanish ESPS Numancia, based at Naval Station Rota, left her homeport in the morning of January 18 to relieve the frigate Canarias which was deployed in the Mediterranean Sea with EUNAVFOR’s Operation Sophia. The frigate sailed off to her area of operations after a ceremony which was presided over b
ITS Carabiniere, flagship of the EU Naval Force, paid her first visit to Antisiranana, Madagascar from December 22 to 26. Having berthed, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri and the Commanding Officer of ITS Carabiniere, Commander Francesco Saladino were received by the Commander of the local Naval Base,
An EH101 helicopter embarked on Op Sophia’s flagship, ITS Garibaldi, spotted two rubber boats in international waters during a patrol on December 29. The rubber boats were sailing from the Lybian coast. The Royal Navy warship HMS Enterprise was tasked by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center to in
Finnish Minister of Defence, Jussi Niinistö, has authorized the nation’s Defence Forces to start the Finnish Navy project, Squadron 2020. The aim of the project is to construct four new corvette-size fighting ships for year-round operation in the special weather and ice conditions at the Baltic Sea.
Civmec, in collaboration with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), unveiled December 14 a newly-built submarine hull section constructed by Civmec at their Henderson facility in Western Australia. This construction is a self-funded initiative, used by the companies to prove that they have the experti
A frigate, four to six reconnaissance aircraft, and aerial replenishment of French fighter jets will be the German contribution to the French fight against ISIS. The German government appropriated these assets one day after the meeting between the French President Francois Hollande and the German Ch
The Italian light aircraft carrier ITS Garibaldi joined the EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia Task Force in the Central Mediterranean taking over the role of mission flagship from ITS Cavour November 25. Having left her home base port of Taranto (Italy) last June 26, only 4 days after the mission launch
BAE Systems, a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company, in an update on its business announced a “further headcount reductions” at its Australian shipyard. Despite Australia’s intention to launch a naval shipbuilding strategy, BAE Systems said that “it is unclear whether this i
The German frigate FGS Schleswig-Holstein concluded its mission as part of the EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia’s Task Force. The vessel set sail back home on October 31, after spending 122 days deployed in the Central Mediterranean Sea. During her 4 months on task, the German frigate conducted more th
As part of a Royal Australian Navy Task Group deployment to North and South East Asia, HMA Ships Arunta, Stuart and Sirius have rendezvoused with the French frigate FNS Vendemiaire in South China Sea. Following port visits to Zhanjiang, China, by HMA Ships Arunta and Stuart and Da Nang, Vietnam, by
The Maritime Theater Missile Defense (MTMD) Forum wrapped up its At Sea Demonstration (ASD) 2015 event, Oct. 27, culminating nearly four years of planning and three weeks of at sea operations in the North Atlantic. MTMD Forum Chair, Rear Adm. Jon A. Hill, the U.S. Navy’s program executive officer fo
