Royal Navy Hunt-class minehunter HMS Cattistock got underway from naval base Portsmouth on Thursday to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). Cattistock will be spending the next three months in the Baltic Sea contributing to NATO mine countermeasure operations. “The ship’s c
German Navy’s F124 air-defense frigate FGS Hessen will be joining a US Navy aircraft carrier strike group off the US east coast for joint drills. Hessen is scheduled to depart her homeport of Wilhelmshaven on January 15 and will be joined by a Norwegian frigate which will also be integrating into a
Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland and her crew started a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary deployment on January 9, getting underway from their homeport at HM Naval Base Devonport. What is special about the Type 23 frigate’s deployment is that Sutherland will be the first Royal Navy vessel to operate in
French shipbuilder Naval Group has selected navigation and positioning systems company iXblue to deliver its Marins systems for the French Navy’s new FTI (Fregate de Taille Intermediaire) medium-size frigates. As a prime contractor on the FTI project, Naval Group signed a contract with iXblue for th
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) got underway from Naval Station Rota, Spain, on January 8, to start its sixth forward-deployed patrol in Africa and Europe. Ross completed its previous four-month patrol in July 2017. The 2017 patrol saw the destroyer take part
The modernized Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster was deployed on January 5 to keep watch on a Russian Navy task group transiting the English Channel and areas of UK interest, the Royal Navy said. The Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate remained at sea over the weekend to meet up with the Russian vesse
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney (DDG64) arrived at the Ukrainian Port of Odessa on December 8, three days after entering the Black Sea. This is the destroyer’s second Odessa visit within a year. In July last year, Carney pulled into Odessa before taking part in the international e
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan got underway from naval base Portsmouth on December 8 to start her deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and the Royal Navy’s operation Kipion tasking. HMS Duncan is the first Royal Navy destroyer to deploy in 2018. The remaining five destro
The US State Department approved the sale of RGM-84L Harpoon Block II surface launched missiles, Block II Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) tactical missiles and MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes to the government of Mexico. Mexico requested the systems, worth an estimated $98.4 million, for use on the
UK defense contractor Babcock will be leading a team of industry partners in a bid for the Royal Navy’s new £1.25 billion Type 31e general purpose light frigate program, the company announced on Monday. According to the announcement, Babcock and Thales have joined forces with BMT, Harland & Wolff an
The Royal Navy and residents of the Orkney Isles are set to mark the centenary of the sinking of two destroyers off South Ronaldsay in a snowstorm on January 12 1918. Just one man survived when HMS Opal and Narborough ran aground when they were caught a snowstorm during a patrol. One hundred years t
Dutch Navy frigate HNLMS Van Speijk intercepted 1,600 kilos of cocaine during a New Year’s Eve operation in the Caribbean region. The drugs were discovered on a Tanzanian flagged merchant ship en route to the Dominican Republic. An embarked NH-90 detected the suspicious ship prompting a US Coast Law
F124 air defense frigate FGS Sachsen will become the first German Navy vessel to deploy in 2018, getting underway from her homeport of naval base Wilhelmshaven on January 5. The lead ship of the F124 frigates is joining the EU-led operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea. The goal of the mission is
UK helicopter carrier HMS Ocean has reportedly been bought by Brazil. The purchase was confirmed by Brazilian defense minister Raul Jungmann, according to UK Defence Journal. Brazil is reportedly paying £84 million for the UK helicopter carrier which recently returned from her final deployment as a
