Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth embarked 820 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) on February 5 in what is the first time that any squadron has embarked the ship. The Merlin Mk 2 helicopters of 820 NAS have been working with the ship since she sailed for the first time from Rosyth in June last [
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri launched the Italian Navy’s eighth FREMM frigate ‘Antonio Marceglia’ (F-597) at its Riva Trigoso shipyard in Genoa on February 3. The eighth of a series of 10 FREMM vessels was launched during a ceremony attended by Italian defense minister Roberta Pinotti and, on beh
US Navy ships centered around the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group (HST CSG) got underway on February 1 to start the composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), their final pre-deployment exercise. COMPTUEX is an intensive, month-long drilldesigned to fully integrate units of HST CSG, while tes
The soon-to-be-decommissioned Royal Navy fleet flagship HMS Ocean arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base on February 2 on a farewell visit. The helicopter carrier and assault ship arrived just after dawn to pay a visit to the city before returning to her homeport of Devonport, Plymouth for the final time
French Navy air-defense frigate FS Chevalier Paul has concluded three weeks of counter-Daesh operations in the Persian Gulf with the US carrier strike group centered around aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. During her time with the carrier strike group, Chevalier Paul provided air defense for
After spending four years in mothballs and another two undergoing a £90m refit, the Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Albion is deploying early next week to become the flagship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2. “It is a huge privilege for us to fly the flag of the NATO task group commander
French shipbuilder Naval Group on February 1 launched the French Navy’s sixth FREMM frigate ‘Normandie’. The shipbuilder floated out its overall eight FREMM vessel 12 months after the start of hull assembly in the building dock on the Lorient site. This launch brought the company a step closer to th
French shipbuilders STX France and Socarenam joined forces with Belgium’s EDR to try and secure a contract for the construction of 12 mine counter measure vessels for the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands. The two navies are jointly procuring mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels and frigates with B
Finnish Navy’s Hamina-class missile boats will be receiving new Bofors 40 Mk4 naval guns delivered by BAE Systems under a contract with Finland’s Patria. Patria is the prime contractor selected by Finland’s defense ministry to coordinate the missile boat upgrades. “Finland is the third country to se
Warships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) will enter the Black Sea to join their mine countermeasure countermeasure counterparts already operating in the region. After SNMG2 ships from the UK and Turkey enter the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, they are scheduled to join Standing NATO
Two European frigates, one from Norway and the other from Germany, arrived at Norfolk naval base Jan. 26 and 28 to join the US Navy carrier strike group assembled around aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F 311) and Sachsen-class German frigate H
The Belgian government on Friday, January 26, decided to give the department of defense its green light for the acquisition of six new mine countermeasure vessels. The order will be placed jointly with the Netherlands Navy which will acquire an identical number of MCM ships. In addition to mine coun
HMS Forth, the first of five second-batch River-class offshore patrol vessels to be built for the Royal Navy, was officially received by the UK defense ministry on Thursday. Forth will be commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet at her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base later this year. UK defense pro
The Romanian Navy has deployed one its four Musca-class minesweepers to join NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 as it operates in the Black Sea. SNMCMG2, with the Royal Navy’s HMS Enterprise at the helm, transited Bosphorus on January 24 and is currently on a Black Sea patrol. In addition
