The joint US-UK exercise Saxon Warrior, held in waters off Scotland, concluded on August 10 after ten days of drills. Surface combatants from the UK, US and Norway joined the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush as the Royal Navy is preparing to revive its carrier strike capability. At one
Two Royal Navy mine countermeasure vessels arrived in Oman recently to relieve two of their counterparts who spent the last three years forward-deployed to Bahrain. Returning home to the UK are HMS Penzance (bound for Faslane) and HMS Chiddingfold (Portsmouth) after completing their three-year stint
French Navy Gowind-class patrol vessel FS L’Adroit has concluded a month-long deployment to the Mediterranean Sea where it helped tackle the migrant crisis off the coast of Libya under the EU-led operation Sophia. FS L’Adroit provided support to the operation, contributing to deter the illegal traff
Atlas Elektronik is to deliver up to 38 workboats for the Royal Navy under a £48 million contract announced by UK defense minister Harriett Baldwin on Wednesday. The new fleet will assist Royal Navy ships from UK bases and on operations all over the world. The tasks to be carried out by the boats wi
The Spanish defense ministry has received the fourth upgraded Agusta Bell 212 (AB212) helicopter delivered by the joint venture made up of SENER and Babcock. The aircraft is the fourth of overall seven helicopters that are to be upgraded under a project that will extend their lifespan by another 15
A reconnaissance mission flown by a Royal Navy Wildcat over the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat has uncovered nine illegal drug plantations in the island’s forbidden zone. Naval aviators revisited the town of Plymouth on the island, 20 years after it was destroyed by a volcano eruption. Half the
Two aircraft carriers, one operational since 2009 and the other preparing for its commissioning ceremony, met off the coast of Scotland during the UK-hosted exercise Saxon Warrior. HMS Queen Elizabeth met up with the USS George HW Bush and her carrier strike group during a series of war games which
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown left her homeport in Halifax and headed for Europe where she will join navy ships from several countries for a six-month deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1. On her second deployment under the Canadian Navy’s operation Reassurance, HMCS Charl
U.S. Navy Seabees on July 25 started construction of a maritime operations center on the Ukrainian Ochakiv Naval Base. The seabees, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, have been in Ochakiv since April to establish contracts, obtain construction permits, and perform other logist
Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Francisco de Almeida (F334) departed its homeport of Lisbon Naval Base on August 6 to join NATO’s standing maritime group 1 (SNMG1). The former Karel Doorman-class frigate will join units from Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Norway for operations in the North and
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to enter her new home in Portsmouth as soon as next Thursday, August 17, UK defense secretary Michael Fallon announced. The biggest warship Britain has ever built left Scotland’s Rosyth dockyard in June to complete trials before entering it
A group of Royal Navy sailors and marines together with two Royal Navy Merlin Mk3 helicopters spent the past five months deployed aboard the French helicopter carrier FS Mistral during its Jeanne D’Arc mission. FS Mistral, together with frigate FS Courbet, embarked Royal Navy personnel in March for
Royal Navy’s Portsmouth Naval Base will be receiving a new combined heat and power plant which will recycle energy, reduce carbon footprint and save the UK defense ministry up to £4million per year in energy costs. BAE Systems is beginning work to install the plant as energy and electrical requireme
RFA Tiderace, the second of four Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tide-class ships, has gotten underway from Okpo, South Korea starting her lengthy voyage to UK. Tiderace departed the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard and has sailed the Japanese Kanmon Strait, according to latest AIS d
