As the Royal Navy’s previous Fleet Commander has moved up the ladder to become the First Sea Lord, the Navy has welcomed his successor at a handover ceremony in Portsmouth, UK. Vice Admiral Ben Key CBE is taking up the role from outgoing Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB who is to be
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced February 9 that it has started construction works on the Italian Navy’s logistic support ship which will be built under the Navy’s fleet renewal plan. The steel cutting ceremony of the ships stern section was held yesterday at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Riva
The Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (The Seven Provinces) left her homeport Willemstad, the Netherlands, for the Caribbean Sea. The first ship of the De Zeven Provincien class will be used as a station ship in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea. A Belgian Navy Alouette III h
Helicopters from the Royal Navy Auxiliary Fort Victoria have been providing direct front-line support to daily strikes from the French carrier Charles De Gaulle against Daesh in the Middle East. The distinctive Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control Mk7 helicopters are scouring Gulf skies and se
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced an additional £201 million of funding to support further design work for the Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear submarines. The funding is within the £3.3 billion Assessment Phase of the Successor programme and will enable BAE Systems to develop the desi
Images: EUNAVFOR 2016 Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Victoria on February 6 left EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta after four months of counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. Led by Commander Fernando José Suarez Fonseca, the ship’s crew contributed to Operation Atalanta which deters and disrupts pir
Saab Seaye, a manufacturer of electric powered Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) systems, hosted an international group of mine countermeasures specialists at its Fareham, Hampshire, UK facility. The group, that included the Deputy Director of The NATO Underwater Research Centre, saw a range of existi
Ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1) arrived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for a scheduled port visit February 5, during their deployment to the North and Baltic Seas to enhance maritime security and to contribute to international stability. SNMG1’s visit to Amsterdam precedes the
Russia’s re-emergence as a strategic challenge and how NATO is going to respond to it was the center-discussion at the Surface Warship Summit in Bucharest, Romania, held January 26-28. Speaking at the summit, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone CB CBE, Commander of Allied Maritime Command, said: “The combi
After spending six months at sea, German Navy’s Frankenthal-class mine hunter Weilheim returned to its homeport in Kiel, Germany on February 7. The German Navy 3rd Squadron ship was part of both the German contribution to NATO’s mine countermeasures group, the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Gro
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, together with the Italian frigate ITS Libeccio and the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, headed for the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish frigate TCG Barbaros joined them in Aksaz, Turkey. The group conducted a range of drills before and after their port cal
Italian aircraft carrier, ITS Cavour, currently flagship of the EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia, on February 3 carried out cross training with the Norwegian Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessel Siem Pilot using one of its embarked helicopters. An Italian EH-101 helicopter took off from ITS Cavour testi
The Letter of Intent, signed February 4 between the Netherlands and Germany, breaks the ground for the development of the Joint Support Ship initiative and the amphibious operation capability. Germany is thereby acquiring new capabilities while the Dutch Navy is enabled to equip its ships more effic
Royal Navy’s Type 45 frigate HMS Defender has visited the island nation of Sri Lanka on its return from the Arabian Gulf. The warship visited Colombo to take on stores and fuel and give the ship’s company a rest from their nine month deployment to the Gulf where they are conducting Air Command and C
