Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was joined by two frigates as she embarked on her maiden sea trials. The frigates’ role is to secure the seas around the aircraft carrier as she conducts vital system tests off the coast of Scotland today. HMS Queen Elizabeth left Rosyth, where s
Royal Navy sailors have received life-size replicas of the F-35 Lightning II jets to help them train for operations on the new aircraft carriers. The replicas are being moved around the tarmac at RNAS Culdrose, in Cornwall, as flight deck teams learn the art of working with the world’s most advanced
French state-owned shipbuilder DCNS announced on Wednesday it was changing its name to Naval Group, for better “exposure and credibility in international markets”. “The creation of a strong, unifying brand, that embodies both our heritage and our expertise will enable us to meet two major objectives
The French-UK led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 seized nearly two tons of narcotics in the last two months during an operation called Southern Surge. The seizures included 1250 kg of heroin and 455 kg of hashish. Narcotics trafficking, particularly heroin, has long been associated with funding terro
Dynamic Mongoose 2017, a NATO-led submarine surveillance exercise, began on Tuesday off the coast of Iceland. Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 allied nations gathered in the North Atlantic Ocean for anti-submarine and anti-surface training. Submarines from France, Germany, the Nethe
FGS Rottweil, German Navy’s former Frankenthal-class minehunter which now serves as a diver support vessel, wrapped up her deployment to NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG 2) and is on her way home. Rottweil is expected to enter her homeport at navy base Kiel on June 30 after five
Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth put to sea on Monday for the first time to start sea trials off the coast of Scotland. In a delicate operation lasting nearly four hours, HMS Queen Elizabeth moved from the basin at Rosyth where she has been under construction since 2014, and into th
Future Royal Navy flagship and the largest warship ever built for the UK, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, is set to depart the Rosyth dockyard on Monday after eight years of construction. As the first of two ships in her class, HMS Queen Elizabeth is looking forward to two years of sea trials with the firs
Spanish Navy’s Aegis-equipped frigate ESPS Blas de Lezo has concluded her deployment to NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) and is scheduled to arrive at her home port in Ferrol, Spain, next Saturday. During her deployment, the F100 frigate served as flagship of the Sub-Group TU.02 opera
The Italian Navy hosted its Algerian counterpart in the Italian port of Augusta for the bilateral exercise Medex-17. Medex consisted of a harbor and an at sea phase, taking place between June 12 and 16. Now in its ninth edition, the exercise is part of the 5 + 5 defense initiative aimed at enhancing
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Leonardo a £260 million contract for the supply of next generation Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) technology. The system, called Mode-5, uses advanced cryptographic techniques and electronic technology to allow UK land, sea and air units to quickly identify frien
Spanish Navy’s F-105 frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón is on her way home after she spent the last four months stationed in Australia helping Royal Australian Navy sailors get acquainted with the Aegis combat system. During her time embedded with the Royal Australian Navy fleet she welcomed more than 200
Austrian unmanned aerial system (UAS) manufacturer Schiebel announced its CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS completed qualification flights for the French Navy from 29 May to 3 June 2017. The flight trials were performed from the deck of the Bâtiment de Projection et de Commandement (BPC) Dixmude, the newest of
Having no standing army and operating just four coast guard vessels has not prevented NATO-member Iceland from hosting one of the organization’s largest anti-submarine warfare exercises. From June 26 to July 8, NATO ships and submarines will gather in Iceland for a series of drills aimed at improvin
