The crew of Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth have completed a five-month deployment to the Gulf and Indian ocean where they contributed to fight against arms and drugs smugglers. The UK and France commanded a multinational naval task force which has scored eight drugs busts over the period, seizing 1
The Latvian Navy is hosting this year’s edition of the international annual mine clearance and ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit which is taking place between August 18 and 31. The exercise aims to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region, including seabed communic
US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and more than 7,000 sailors assigned to its carrier strike group are set to conclude their seven-month deployment returning home to Norfolk on August 21. The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), commanded by Capt. Will Pennington, and the guid
Irish boat builder Safehaven Marine has been awarded a contract to build the largest vessel in a new fleet of Royal Navy workboats which are to be delivered by Atlas Elektronik (AEUK). Safehaven Marine will supply an 18 metre Wildcat 60 catamaran, to be part of a fleet of up to 38 new workboats, ran
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) ‘Infanta Cristina’ got underway from Cartagena, Spain, on Wednesday to start a four-month deployment to Western Africa. Infanta Cristina will spend the next four months in and around the Gulf of Guinea working with regional countries as part of the Spanish D
Ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) completed four days of historical ordnance disposal (HOD) operations along with Estonian minehunter ENS Admiral Cowan in Estonian territorial waters on August 17. The ships searched Estonian coastal areas that had not been previousl
The Finnish Navy chief will be hosting the commander of Allied Maritime Command and ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in Helsinki next week. On August 24, Finnish Navy Vice Admiral Veijo Taipalus will welcome MARCOM commander Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone for an official visit to Finl
The German Navy’s F122, Bremen-class frigate FGS ‘Lübeck’ is joining NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean Sea. Setting sail on August 21, Lübeck will be replacing another German ship, F123 frigate FGS Brandenburg, which spent six months as the flagship of the international task group. Comm
The Royal Marines spent four weeks at sea aboard aviation training ship RFA Argus preparing for the operation of the new Merlin Mk3 helicopters. Two Fleet Air Arm squadrons – 845 and 846 – have recently switched from Sea Kings to the green Merlin Mk3, transferred from the RAF. But in order to be abl
HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers is entering her future homeport of HM Naval Base Portsmouth for the first time. The 65,000-tonne carrier is entering Portsmouth after setting sail for sea trials from Scotland’s Rosyth dockyard in June. More than 700 sailors, led
The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) pulled into Theoule Sur Mer, France, for a scheduled port visit on August 14. During Oscar Austin’s first time in Theoule Sur Mer, the crew will participate in events commemorating the liberation of southern France
HMS Queen Elizabeth will be entering Portsmouth Naval Base on Wednesday, the Royal Navy has announced. Weather consideration have prompted the Royal Navy to set the arrival of Britain’s new aircraft carrier to its homeport a bit earlier than expected. The UK defense ministry last week announced that
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F-105) returned home to Naval Base Ferrol, Spain, on August 10 after spending three month in Australia where the ship’s crew helped prepare Australian sailors to operate the Aegis combat system. Just the like the future HMAS Hobart, the first of three new a
The French Navy’s La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf returned to her homeport at Toulon naval base on August 10 completing a three-month counter-piracy deployment. Surcouf spent over 120 days with the Combined Maritime Forces’ CTF 150 patrolling the Indian Ocean intercepting traffickers between the
