Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria is currently deployed with Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean as part of Spain’s contribution to the European Union’s efforts to ensure piracy remains suppressed off the coast of Somalia. To ensure the Spanish marines on board remain fully p
Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine HMS Trenchant was declared operational again following almost two years of maintenance and weapon and sensors upgrades in Devonport Naval Base. The crew of the Trafalgar-class submarine staged a ceremony in Plymouth, August 19, to mark the vessel’s readiness fo
The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $68.4 million contract to start procuring long-lead parts for the production of two P-8A maritime patrol aircraft for the UK government. The contract is part of a larger approx. £3 billion contract under which the UK is to receive nine maritime patrol aircraft. The
German Navy’s Brandenburg-class frigate FGS Bayern is set to return from the operation Atalanta on August 20 after spending almost six months off the Horn of Africa combating piracy. By leaving the mission area, the frigate has also concluded the German contribution to the mission. FGS Bayern’s plac
British technology company QinetiQ has been contracted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) of the UK Ministry of Defence to stage a demonstration of unmanned and autonomous systems during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior event. The demonstration, dubbed Hell Bay 4, will see a va
New lights that will guide the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers safely into Portsmouth harbor will soon be completed as the top sections of the structures are put in place, the UK government announced. The final construction stage involves lifting the superstructures onto the pile foundations driven e
FS Languedoc, French Navy’s newest FREMM frigate delivered to the navy in March 2016, left the Toulon Naval Base on August 12 to begin her long-term deployment. With some 140 sailors on board and an embarked NH90 NFH (NATO frigate helicopter), also referred to as Caïman by the French, the FS Langued
The 60-meter Royal Bahamas Defence Force Corvette HMBS Nassau (P-61) has arrived at Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam in the Netherlands for an extensive refit. According to the Dutch company, the 17-year old vessel will receive an overhaul that comprises full systems and instrumentation replaceme
The U.S. Navy has carried out a second live-fire test of the SeaRAM® anti-ship defense system installed on the USS Carney stationed in Rota, Spain. USS Carney thereby became the second Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer stationed in Rota, Spain to fire the missile system. On March 4, 2016,
U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) arrived in Theoule-sur-Mer, France, August 14 for a scheduled port visit to participate in commemorative events honoring the liberation of southern France by allied forces during World War II. The primary reason for the port v
Italian Navy anti-submarine frigate ITS Euro, deployed to operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa, trained with sailors and divers from the Tanzanian Navy during a recent port visit to Dar Es Salaam. Operation Atalanta sailors conducted different exercises with their Tanzanian counterparts, includ
U.S. Marine and Fleet Forces commands (USFF and MARFORCOM) kicked off exercise Bold Alligator 2016 (BA16) in Norfolk on August 15. BA16 is a synthetic, scenario-based simulation exercise designed to train Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 and 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2d MEB). As part of the
Two drug smugglers have been jailed for a total of 42 years on August 12 after they were caught by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset in what became known as the largest ever seizure of Class A drugs in the UK. 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of over half a billion pounds, was […]
British shipbuilder BAE Systems has shared a photo of the first of three new Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels, HMS Forth, outside the Govan construction shed in Glasgow prior to its launch. BAE received a £348 million contract to build the three vessels in August 2014. The offshore patrol vessels
