On Saturday 25th of July 2015, EU Naval Force Commander, Rear Admiral Alfonso Gomez Fernando de Cordoba, welcomed the Chief of the Djiboutian Navy, Colonel Abdourahman Aden Cher, on board Operation Atalanta flagship, ESPS Galicia. The visit included a guided tour of the Spanish warship, followed by
Sailors on board HMS Somerset were given the rare opportunity to visit the spectacular sights of Iceland while on a short break between North Atlantic patrols. Although the North Atlantic is a regular operating area for Royal Navy warships it is not often that there is a stop in Iceland and it was t
The head of the Royal Navy Admiral Sir George Zambellas visited reservists in Scotland where he presented a medal and gave an address to the assembled sailors. HMS Scotia is based in Rosyth, and is the East of Scotland’s Royal Naval Reserve unit which has around 100 members of the Royal Naval Reserv
This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Royal Navy Aircraft Handlers Branch, who was formed to meet a need in 1945 to launch and recover aircraft from the navy’s large carriers. The first Aircraft Handlers (AH) were intrinsically involved with operations at the latter part of World War 2, that s
Spanish warship, ESPS Galicia, recently reached the halfway point in her deployment as the flagship for Operation Atalanta. Since joining the Operation in May 2015, ESPS Galicia has sailed over 15,000 nautical miles, conducting counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Somali basin, as well as
Colombian Navy warship, ARC 7 de Agosto, recently completed sea trials with the Spanish Navy prior to her collaboration with Operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia. Conducted at the Spanish Navy Combat at Sea Centre in south western Spain, the sea training ensured that ARC 7 de Agosto was ready
Ships in the Caribbean have been treated to an impromptu daytime firework display as the Lynx helicopter of RFA Lyme Bay tested her defences. The Royal Navy helicopter fired their Infra-Red Countermeasures – better known as flares – over waters off Grand Cayman during a training flight for the 180-k
Two Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre (JSATC) 72ft yachts, ‘Adventure of Hornet’ and ‘Discoverer of Hornet’ have set sail on a circumnavigation of the globe as they embark on the much heralded tri-service adventurous training sailing expedition, Exercise Transglobe. Skipper of HMSTC Ad
OceanWorks International has completed system upgrades to the third Italian Navy’s HARDSUIT™ Atmospheric Diving System (ADS), designed and delivered by OceanWorks. The conclusion of the work on the third ADS marks the completion of a major survey and upgrade of the Italian Navy’s ADS fleet to the Qu
The Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke has tested its ‘soft kill’ systems in a rare series of firings off UK’s South coast. Designed to seduce, distract or confuse an incoming missile, the Sea Gnat and DLF were both used in the practice session – and it was the first time for many of the […]
The Royal Navy’s smallest ships which are used to give university students a taste of life in the Senior Service have been sailing round the Baltics for their summer deployment. Four of the 16 patrol boats are flying the flag for Britain and the Royal Navy in ports, towns, islands and cities UK wars
The Spanish Navy’s frigate ‘Santa María’ (F-81), along with the AOR ‘Cantabria’, recently deployed from Rota Naval Base towards Majorca where they joined the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2). As of July 17th, the SNMG-2 is made up of the German frigate ‘Hamburg’, the US Navy destroyer ‘Donald
US Navy’s USS Ross (DDG 71) returned to Naval Station Rota, July 20, 2015, after completing its second forward deployed patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. Ross, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, Departed March 18, 2015, and performed mari
Ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) arrived in Constanta, Romania for a scheduled port visit on July 17, ahead of their participation in the Romanian Navy-led Exercise SEA SHIELD 2015, during the Group’s deployment to the Black Sea. Led by Rear Admiral Alberto Correia (Portugu
