Sandown class mine hunter HMS Bangor has left Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard for sea trials on Friday, 13 June, following a successful six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)). The SP(D), carried out under the Surface Ship Support Alliance Class Output Management (COM) arrangements by the Babcock-led
Ships from various nations in the Baltic Region and the U.S. 6th Fleet command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) begin the underway phase of Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2014. The annual multinational exercise is in its 42nd year and is conducted to enhance maritime capabilities and interoperability
HMS Chiddingfold sailed from Portsmouth 9 June for the Gulf where she will spend three years protecting vital sea lanes. Although the 42 crew on board the minehunter will rotate every six months, the ship will be based in Bahrain until 2017. Chiddingfold will work with three other UK minehunters c
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) welcomed aboard U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during a scheduled port visit to Constanta, Romania, June 5. Vella Gulf’s presence in Romania reaffirms the United States’ commitment to strengthening ties with NATO allies and
A new underwater target is being used to test the Royal UK Navy’s latest generation of submariners as part of a £5.3m five-year deal. It will be down to the sonar and control room teams aboard Astute, Vanguard and Trafalgar-class submarines to first find these devices in Scottish waters – then pot
HMS Enterprise was waved off as she deployed on patrol from Plymouth yesterday 4 June after months of challenging training and maintenance. The was waved off at Devil’s Point as she sailed across Plymouth Sound via HM Naval Base, Devonport, for 18 months of vital survey work in the Bay of Biscay,
BAE Systems has announced new design contracts for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, which will play a vital role in the programme to deliver the Royal Navy’s next generation surface warship. Six Design Development Agreements have been awarded covering key areas such as propulsion, ventilation and e
The Royal UK Navy’s new submarine-hunting helicopters will face their greatest test yet when they head into the Atlantic next week in the biggest exercise of its kind for many years. Taking part in Exercise Deep Blue in the Western Approaches, the nine Merlin helicopters will join HMS Illustrious
A team from HMS Ocean has been training at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) in preparation for taking Britain’s biggest warship back to sea following a 15-month £65 million revamp. The ship’s Bridge team of 11, made up of Officers and Ratings, spent the week at the Naval College in Dartmouth u
Phoenix Express 2014, a multinational maritime exercise between North African, European, and U.S. naval forces, which began its inport phase at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operation Training Center (NMIOTC) in Souda Bay, May 13, is now in its underway operations phase in the central Mediterranean
HMS Sutherland prepares to enter the water for the first time in six months as her refit approaches a major milestone. The frigate has been out of action since October – and out of the water since the following month – while undergoing an 11-month revamp in her home base of Devonport. That revamp
HMS Somerset held a Service of Remembrance for personnel from HMS Brilliant who perished when their Lynx helicopter crashed in Mombasa, Kenya on 14 May 1989. The ship’s company of HMS Somerset, including the embarked Lynx flight crew, took time to remember those lost from the Type 22 Broadsword-cl
The sea part of the official acceptance trials of the tugboat «RB-406» of project 16609 (building No 625) of the Acceptance Program of 2014 has successfully finished. During this year the tugboat will be delivered to the State Customer – Russian Navy and put into operation within the Pacific Fleet
Members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 (EODMU 8), Platoon 802 wrapped up their participation in exercise Open Spirit 2014, May 22. Held annually in one of the Baltic States, the exercise aims to clear shipping routes, communication lines, and fishing areas and search for and dispose