Royal Navy frigate HMS Iron Duke set sail for the first time this year having spent the winter in her home port undergoing a sustained period of maintenance. The Type 23 frigate, which spent the first half of 2016 on NATO duties in the Baltic and waters of northern Europe, is now headed for operatio
Polish Navy minehunter ORP Wigry joined German Navy mine countermeasure ships from the Kiel-based 3rd Minesweeping Squadron for mine countermeasure drills in the Baltic Sea. German units taking part in the exercise included minehunters Datteln and Sulzbach-Rosenberg, minesweeper Pegnitz and tender D
U.S. Navy’s Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), together with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on March 7. While in theater, more than 4,000 sailors and marines of the ARG and MEU will train to share information, experiences, and work together.
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri launched ‘Federico Martinengo’, the seventh Italian Navy FREM frigate, during a ceremony on March 4 at the Riva Trigoso shipyard in Genoa. Federico Martinengo is the seventh of overall ten vessels in the Carlo Bergamini-class Fincantieri is to build for the Italian Na
Davie Shipbuilding, the contractor in charge of constructing the Royal Canadian Navy’s Resolve-class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, has subcontracted ALMACO Group for the delivery of a superstructure for the vessel. Project Resolve consists of converting a containership, former MV Asterix whi
Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean visited Beirut en route home, becoming the first Royal Navy vessel in five years to visit the Lebanese capital. The helicopter carrier arrived in Lebanon on March 4 having concluded a six-month deployment in the Middle East. Ocean’s captain, Capt Rob Pedre, was joined b
Warship deployed to two standing NATO maritime groups arrived in Plymouth on Friday for an informal port visit and an opportunity to take part in Royal Navy’s renowned Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST). Led by Norwegian Navy Commodore Ole Morten Sandquist, visiting ships from Standing NATO Maritime G
Republic of Korea Navy destroyer Choi Young officially joined operation Atalanta welcoming aboard the operation’s Force Commander, Rear Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado Muñoz-Rojas during a joint counter-piracy patrol off the coast of Somalia. The Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer joined EU NAV
A Lynx helicopter embarked on the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Portland carried out one final Sea Skua anti-ship missile firing. Royal Navy will no longer be using the Sea Skua missile as the Lynx helicopters carrying it are set to retire in March. This will leave the Royal Navy with a helicopte
The Royal Navy recently hosted the first Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) conference in Portsmouth headed by Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Ben Key and Commander of UK Maritime Forces Rear Admiral Alex Burton. The UK, with partner nations Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and No
The United Arab Emirates Navy selected French defense technology company Thales to provide improved electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare as well as security and surveillance capabilities to its forces at the 2017 NAVDEX exhibition in Dubai. The UAE Navy also announced a contract for the purcha
Swedish defence and security company Saab announced it has received an order for delivery of the AUV62-AT anti-submarine warfare training system. The company said deliveries would take place during 2017 and 2018 but did not disclose the customer. AUV62-AT was recently displayed and tested in the UK
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel Vigía set sail from Cadiz to conduct a series of activities in Africa as part of the Spanish government’s Defense Diplomacy Plan and a follow-on of the Africa Partnership Station (APS) initiative. These deployments are intended to enhance maritime security and to
Two Royal Navy Merlins have embarked French amphibious assault ship FS Mistral, the lead ship of French Navy task group, for the French annual Jeanne d’Arc deployment. The five-month amphibious deployment will take the force – which includes the frigate Courbet – as far east as Japan and Guam, as fa
