Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose became the first Royal Navy frigate to forward-deploy to the Persian Gulf as she got underway from Plymouth for a three-year deployment to the Middle East. While the Devonport-based warship will not return home for more than three years, her ship’s company will rotate in
Missile systems developer MBDA has unveiled a navalized version of the MMP 5th generation ground combat missile at Euronaval. MDBA said the decision to introduce the system follows the operational evaluation campaign carried out at the end of the summer by the French armed forces in Djibouti to conf
The Netherlands became the first UK ally to announce it would send a warship to join the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on her first operational deployment in 2021. The announcement was made on October 24 during the visit of the King and Queen of the Netherlands to Downing Street. T
A Turkish Navy Ay-class submarine sank a decommissioned navy vessel in the country’s second known sinking exercise (SINKEX) of 2018. The exercise took place last week in the Black Sea and follows a SINKEX which took place in June when Type 209/1200 submarine TCG Yildiray launched a wire-guided torpe
HMS Brocklesby and Shoreham, two of the UK’s Persian Gulf-based minehunters, sailed from Bahrain to Doha to give the Qatari Navy an insight into the Royal Navy’s work in the region. Joint training with the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces was conducted both in their base and then out in the gulf. The Qatar
F-35 Lightning fighter jets have dropped first test bombs during flight trials on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. The inert GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided precision bombs were dropped off the east coast of the USA, marking another significant milestone in the carrier’s tri
Ships assigned to the US Navy’s Iwo Jima expeditionary strike group (IWOESG) have entered the US 6th Fleet area of operations as part of a deployment in support of NATO exercise Trident Juncture 18. The strike group will join the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group and US 6th Fleet flagship USS Mou
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was at the center of an important milestone for the F-35 program as an F-35B performed the first ever shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) British test pilot Peter Wilson conducted the landing this weekend. Previously the jets have conducted only
After welcoming her first F-35B fighter jets on the flight deck as part of first-of-class flight trials, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth recently welcomed two US Navy helicopter heavyweights on the deck. The first to land was the United States Navy’s biggest helicopter – the MH-5
Libyan Navy and Coast Guard personnel started a new phase of training, dubbed “Package 2”, with the Italian Navy in La Maddalena, Italy, on October 8. The training is conducted as part of the EU-led Mediterranean Sea migrant-response operation Sophia. A total of 69 personnel will be trained in this
French autonomous systems specialist ECA Group joined forces with maritime solution provider MAURIC to design a patrol vessel-sized ship specialized for carrying and deploying mine countermeasure autonomous vessel of all sizes. The design is named Octopoda and comes in two ranges, a 30-meter Octopod
The eight Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy will be homeported in Devonport, UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. The 6,900-tonne frigates will be anti-submarine warships and will provide protection for the UK nuclear deterrent and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft car
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman arrived into Portsmouth on October 6 for a port visit while on a Mediterranean Sea deployment. The carrier most recently visited France and Greece and will continue with her program early this week. Arriving early Saturday morning into a foggy Solent, she
The UK defense ministry announced it has awarded over £1 billion worth of contracts for the maintenance of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and the Royal Navy’s survey and hydrographic fleet over the next ten years. The deal covers 17 ships and will improve how spares, repairs and maintenance work are ca
