The Royal Navy’s auxiliary ship RFA Lyme Bay has returned home after patrolling the Atlantic, visiting 16 nations, helping with two disaster relief operations, and making a $53million cocaine bust. RFA Lyme Bay sailed into Falmouth, England at the weekend having completed a six-month patrol of the N
The Swedish defence and security company Saab announced December 18 that it signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Material Administration for the yearly overhaul and modification of the Swedish Navy’s Stockholm-class corvettes. The two Swedish Navy vessels are HMS Stockholm and HMS Malmö. The a
The Canadian Navy’s hunter-killer submarine HMCS Windsor returned to Halifax December 17 after a three and a half month deployment to Western European waters. HMCS Windsor, along with HMC Ships Athabaskan, Halifax, Montréal, Goose Bay, and Summerside left Halifax in the early fall. The submarine is
HMS Lancaster, the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate, returned to Portsmouth December 17 from a nine-month deployment to the North and South Atlantic. The frigate has steamed more than 35,000 nautical miles across four oceans and has visited 23 ports in 18 countries. She was also the first Royal Navy ves
The U.S. Navy’s future DDG 51 destroyer, USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) started its Aegis Combat System testing at the Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard, December 17. The Aegis system light off marks the beginning of combat system testing for the ship. These tests will ensure all combat system equipment
The German frigate FGS Hamburg will return to her homeport in Wilhelmshaven, Germany after spending six months as a NATO unit flagship on December 20. Hamburg was flagship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. The 200 men and women of the FGS Hamburg were commanded by Rear Admiral Jörg Klein, who w
In her third drug seizure so far, HMAS Melbourne has intercepted another 216 kilograms of high-grade heroin in the Middle East worth around $64 million (USD $46.1 million). The heroin was transferred to Melbourne for further analysis. The seizure takes the Royal Australian Navy’s narcotics haul sinc
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer, HMS Defender, has now officially joined the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle in the Middle East in the fight against Daesh. The warship met with the carrier in the Indian Ocean with the goal of enhancing its capabilities in the fight against terrorist grou
EUNAVFOR Med operation Sophia air units have recently been augmented by the Hellenic Air Force aircraft Erieye EMB-145H AEW&C and a Spanish Navy AB-212 Helicopter. The Greek aircraft, based in the Hellenic Air Force Base of Elefsis in Greece, is an airborne Command and Control Platform with the capa
BAE Systems, the UK-based shipbuilder, was awarded a £13.5m ($20.4m) contract for 60 new Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boats. The announcement was made by the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Michael Fallon during his visit to Portsmouth Naval Base on December 14. This Pacific 24 Mark-4
Royal Navy’s type 23 frigate, HMS Richmond returned home to the Naval Base Portsmouth on December 11 after a nine-month deployment. Sailing more than 40,000 miles, the Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate travelled as far as the Indian Ocean on security patrols, where her crew intercepted their first ma
The U.S. state Delaware and its Department of natural resources and environmental control DNREC sank the former Army and Navy ship Shearwater on December 11. The ship was sunk onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef as the latest fish-attracting habitat and underwater enhancement to Delaware’s acclaimed artif
Russian Navy’s destroyer ship Smetlivy fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel in the Aegean Sea on December 13. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the destroyer was forced to open warning fire in order to avoid a collision between the two vessels. At the moment of the incident, the destro
The Royal Navy has carried out its second drugs bust in the Mediterranean in just two weeks with HMS St Albans seizing around 320kg of cannabis. The Type 23 frigate stopped the drug smugglers during a routine security patrol and prevented around £1 million worth of narcotics reaching European market
