NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) has been patrolling in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey since February 12, 2016. The group arrived in the area to participate in national and international efforts to cut the lines of illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean Sea, a
A total of 20 ships from NATO member countries are set to take part in the NATO’s, Norway-hosted, exercise Cold Response. The operational phase of the exercise will start on March 3 in Trondheim, Norway. Most of the ships from Norway, Denmark, England, France, Poland, The Netherlands, and Spain have
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans has rescued two men trapped on a sinking vessel in the Gulf of Oman. Whilst carrying out maritime security operations the frigate was contacted by an Omani Air Force surveillance aircraft and asked to respond to a stricken dhow in the Gulf of Oman. The airc
A Swedish Navy surface ship spotted a periscope of an unknown submarine during military exercises in Swedish waters last year, local news site Dagens Nyheter reported. The news caught international attention because it happened only half a year after the 2014 major submarine hunt in the Stockholm ar
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded French defence company Thales a £19 (approx. $26.4) million contract to perform a mid-life update to the External Communications Voice Distribution and Management System (called KMY) for the Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigate fleet. Known as KRS (KMY Replacement S
Norwegian maritime services company Bergen Group Services has been awarded a one-year extension of the contract for the ship technical maintenance of the Norwegian Navy’s Fridtjof Nansen frigates. The company said the contract has an estimated value of NOK 70 (approx. $8.1) million. The project invo
Royal Marines have tested their skills and know-how by fast roping from a helicopter onto HMS St Albans flightdeck. Using St Albans’ Merlin helicopter, one by one members of the ship’s Royal Marines Boarding Team (RMBT) carried out one of their most dangerous training exercises – descending from a h
On Saturday February 20, 2016 Operation Atalanta ships visited the Tanzanian port city Dar es Salaam. While in port, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri, Op Atalanta Force Commander received the mission’s Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Jonas Wikström aboard the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Carabiniere. Thi
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg returned to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt on February 23 after an eight-and-a-half month deployment and participation in two international exercises. On Operation REASSURANCE, HMCS Winnipeg served with two Standing NATO Maritime Groups, supported NA
A Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker has proven to be the the ship of choice when it comes to multi-cab helicopter flight operations. Currently deployed to the Arabian Gulf as the Kipion Ready Tanker, RFA Fort Victoria has been operating with its own Squadron but also those of other squadrons and nations.
Multiple ships from EUNAVFOR Med’s Operation Sophia joined forces for the rescue of 475 migrants off the Libyan coast, February 20 and 21. Four rubber boats, one spotted by the Italian helicopter EH101 on Saturday and one by the Spanish air force aircraft VIGMA D-4 on Sunday, were in distress in int
Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 8 Allied nations met on the Central Mediterranean Sea for Dynamic Manta 2016 (DYMA 16), NATO’s submarine warfare exercise which began February 22 off the Sicilian coast. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the U
Images: US Navy The U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed the Italian port city Gaeta for routine operations in the Mediterranean Sea on February 22. While underway, the ship will conduct unit-level training, perform duties as the fleet command and contro
German military technology group Rheinmetall and the German Bundeswehr (army) recently tested a high-energy laser effector which was installed on a German warship operating on the high seas. To carry out the test, Rheinmetall mounted a 10-kilowatt high-energy laser (HEL) effector on a MLG 27 light n
