Royal Navy’s vessels will soon have its first permanent naval base in the Middle East since UK formally withdrew from Bahrain and Sharjah in 1971. In the margins of the 10th IISS Manama Dialogue, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond signed a new defence arrangement with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin
The Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland returned to Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth on Friday, 5 December, after a successful patrol policing international shipping lanes in the Middle East. The vessel’s return marks the end of a successful seven-month patrol in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean.
Canada assumed command of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) yesterday, a naval counter-terrorism task force that spans more than two million square miles in the greater Middle East region. Commodore Brian Santarpia officially took command of CTF-150 during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the
After a month-long deployment to the south-eastern Pacific, the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet group returned to the port city of Vladivostok. The group, consisting of the large anti-submarine vessel Admiral Vinogradov, tanker Ilim and sea tug MB-37, embarked on this mission on October 29. Launched from
The NATO counter-piracy flagship of Task Force 508 (CTF 508) HDMS ESBERN SNARE and the Royal Navy of Oman corvette RNOV AL-RASIKH on November 24th conducted a naval exercise in the Arabian Sea off Salalah to improve interoperability and strengthen relations between the forces. The exercise focused m
Royal Navy Sailors and Marines practised taking down pirates in the Indian Ocean. Plymouth-based HMS Bulwark and Portsmouth-based HM Ships Chiddingfold and Penzance, as well as Royal Fleet Auxiliary Cardigan Bay, have been training with the US Navy’s minehunters USS Dexterous and USS Devastator. It
On Sunday 9 November the Spanish Ambassador to Oman, His Excellency Mr Juan José Urtasun, paid a visit to ESPS Navarra during her port visit to Muscat, Oman. Port visits such as this are an opportunity to resupply the Spanish warship with food and stores, and give the crew the opportunity to take so
Seven Royal Australian Navy members left Australia this week to embed with the Combined Maritime Force’s Canadian led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150) in the Middle East. From December 2014 to April 2015, the Navy team will work in CTF150 to deter, disrupt and defeat international terrorist organisa
Virtual Technology Changes Design of UK Navy Warships BAE Systems’ Engineers are overhauling their approach to the design and build of Royal Navy warships by using cutting edge virtual reality technology. US Navy’s EA-6B Prowler Retires As the sun sets on USS George H.W. Bush’s (CVN 77) current depl
This year’s International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) concluded in Bahrain Nov. 13, after nearly three weeks of seminars and training maneuvers. The exercise provided a wide array of maritime operations designed to promote international interoperability, protect global commerce and ensure
After five years of land-based operations in Afghanistan, the Royal Navy’s Sea King Force has fully returned to sea, flying their helicopters from Royal Navy ships in the Gulf. Whilst operating from Camp Bastion since May 2009, the ‘Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control (SKASaC) Force’, nicknam
USS Jimmy Carter Propulsion Deal Goes to DRS Technologies DRS Power & Control Technologies is being awarded a $17,9 million modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the accomplishment of the redesign of the advanced secondary propulsion unit motor con
Nearly 1,500 Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines, specialist divers are engaged in the world’s largest naval exercise dealing with the threat of mines. The core of the Royal Navy’s presence in the Middle East has joined more than 5,000 military personnel from more than 40 nations spread across six con
As HMAS Success began the last phase of her preparation for a lengthy deployment in November, the ship’s company welcomed a new Commanding Officer. Captain Justin Jones took command at the gangway of Success after his predecessor, Captain Allison Norris, completed a circuit of the ship’s main deck w
