The EU-led counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia has welcomed a new force commander in a ceremony held in Djibouti on April 5. Italian Navy Rear Admiral Simone Malvagna will now be in charge of operation Atalanta from aboard his flagship, FREMM frigate ITS Carlo Margottini. The frigate i
A new naval support facility in Bahrain for Royal Navy operations was officially opened in a ceremony on April 5. The facility will be the hub of the Royal Navy’s operations in the Gulf, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The base will be capable of meeting the needs of British warships operating in the regi
A squadron of 12 French Navy Rafale M fighter jets, accompanied by three KC-135 refueling tankers, took off from the Landivisiau Naval Aviation Base in northwest France on April 4 to head to the United States for a two-month deployment. The aircraft usually fly from the French Navy aircraft carrier
Italian Navy’s multi-purpose research vessel ITS Alliance is set to return to its homeport in La Spezia, Italy, on April 6, concluding a 79-day mission in waters off Iceland and Greenland. Alliance’s mission was to support a project carried out under the custody of NATO’s Center for Maritime Researc
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia officially started construction works on the second Royal Australian Navy auxiliary and replenishment oiler (AOR) with a steel cutting ceremony on April 4. First steel for the ship was cut at the company’s Fene facility in northwestern Spain. According to Navantia, const
Spanish Navy’s ESPS Meteoro is joining the European Union Naval Force’s (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta in the Indian Ocean. The offshore patrol vessel departed the Military Arsenal of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on April 1, 2018, the navy informed. As explained, the deployment of Meteoro is part of th
US Navy’s forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) got underway Naval Station Rota, Spain, on April 2 to start its fifth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations. “We are excited to be heading out on our fifth patrol. The crew has completed a lot of hard
HNLMS Karel Doorman, the Royal Netherlands Navy’s multi-purpose amphibious ship, got underway from its Den Helder homeport on April 4 to join the NATO-led operation Sea Guardian. Karel Doorman will spend the next nine weeks patrolling the Mediterranean Sea monitoring patterns-of-life to detect suspi
Loire, the first of four French Navy’s Offshore Support and Assistance Vessels (BSAH), has been delivered to the country’s Defence Procurement Agency (DGA). The delivery took place on March 22, 2018. Built by Kership, the newbuild was launched in June 2017. Featuring a length of 70.3 meters and a wi
US Navy’s forward-deployed guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) completed a four-month patrol in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, returning to Rota, Spain, on March 31. While on patrol, Carney conducted missions in support of regional allies and partners in the Mediterranean and Black Sea re
A crewman has been medevacked from the US Navy submarine USS Georgia off Cartagena, Spain, the country’s maritime safety agency Salvamento Maritimo said. As informed, the medical evacuation was carried out in the morning hours of March 28. Salvamento Maritimo said the crewman was evacuated as it los
Italian defense company Leonardo has signed a grant agreement for OCEAN2020, the first European Defence Fund’s initiative project aimed at boosting Europe’s defense research. The project – which will be funded by a grant totaling around EUR 35 million – will be led by Leonardo, which will coordinate
The Royal Netherlands Navy, with over EUR6 billion in funds set aside for its acquisition and maintenance programs, is the major winner of the Netherlands defense ministry’s 2018 white paper. Army and air force follow with little over two and one billion euros, respectively, while 1.7 billion is to
Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s third Tide-class tanker RFA Tidesurge arrived in Cornwall, England, on March 27 where it will undergo further outfitting and trials before entering service. Tidesurge arrived from South Korea where it was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. It is the third of f
