Portsmouth-based minehunter HMS Atherstone sailed for a three year deployment to the Gulf region. Atherstone’s primary role is mine hunting and disposal, a discipline in which the Royal Navy has a world leading reputation. The United Kingdom keeps a number of Mine Counter Measure Vessels based in Ba
Dutch Defence Minister Hans Hillen had a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Dr. Ismet Yilmaz in Istanbul last week. The Defence ministers signed a statement aimed at enhancing the military cooperation between the two NATO allies. Mr Hillen subsequently paid a visit to the frigate HNLMS Evertsen, w
Seven F-16 fighter aircraft from Volkel Air Base took off on May 27 to take part in a two-week multinational exercise in Norway. During this so-called NATO Tiger Meet, pilots from 313 Squadron carry out complex missions at the higher end of the spectrum of force. These large-scale exercises, which a
Slipping silently into the waters of the Firth of Clyde, Royal Navy mine hunter, HMS Shoreham on May 28 left her home port of HM Naval Base Clyde for a three-year deployment. The high-tech Sandown class ship is off to join the UK task-force based in the Gulf. En route she will operate in the [&helli
The closing ceremony for the multi-national exercise designed to improve interoperability between the U.S. and South and Central American navies, UNITAS Pacific (PAC), was held in Callao, Peru, May 25. The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Underwood (USS 36) represented the U.S. N
A joint military exercise dubbed “Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training 2012” (CARAT) commenced on May 30 in Indonesia’s East Java province, the protagonists being Indonesian navy and its U.S. counterpart, Xinhua news portal informed. The waters off East Java province’s coast cities of Surabaya
Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) participated in a Damage Control (DC) Olympics while the ship was underway, May 25. The DC Olympics is a practical training competition pitting the ship’s 10 repair lockers against each other in a host of contests to
Between 29 May and 06 June 2012, NATO will conduct a new Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise. DYNAMIC MONGOOSE 12, as the exercise is called, will take place off the coast of Norway and involve four submarines, 11 aircrafts and four surface ships provided by seven NATO nations. The objective is to provi
Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS, is developing innovative solutions to protect ships of the Canadian Navy against asymmetric laser-based threats. Under the designation LOCATES (Laser Optical Countermeasures and Surveilllance Against Threat Environment Scenarios), the Defence Res
Australian Defence Force Command and Medical Specialist personnel have left Australia to participate in Pacific Partnership 2012, an exercise to improve responses to natural and humanitarian emergencies in the region. The exercise is an annual US-sponsored humanitarian assistance exercise also aims
Australia’s Anzac Class frigates will be further protected from supersonic cruise missile attacks thanks to new radar technology acquired and fitted onto the ships by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). The CEAFAR Radar and CEAMOUNT Missile Control Illuminator are part of a multi-phased array r
The last known Staten Island resident survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack visited Fleet Week New York 2012 at the The Sullivans Pier, May 27. Former Chief Boatswain’s Mate Alf Kongslie and three generations of his family visited Fleet Week and were treated to a tour of the pier and USS San Jacinto (
Last Saturday, 19 May, USS TAYLOR detected a drifting dhow with no propulsion while patrolling off the Horn of Africa in support of NATO’s counter piracy Operation Ocean Shield. The dhow named NAHDA was found by USS TAYLOR right at the entrance of the Gulf of Aden. After sending a team onboard NAHDA
On Sunday 27 May EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Dutch frigate Van Amstel rendezvoused at sea with World Food Programme (WFP) chartered ship MV Caroline Scan to re-supply the Dutch protection team onboard – known as an Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment or AVPD . The Dutch AVPD, which consists of ar
