Commodore Aage Buur Jensen and key members of his staff visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) on Friday, 12 December 2014, to formally hand over command of Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD Task Force 508 (TF-508). Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, C
HMS Defender returned to her home in Portsmouth on December 12, after more than six months deployed on high intensity operations in the Northern Gulf. The ship has spent part of her deployment supporting the US-led Carrier Task Group and her F18s conducting strikes in the fight against ISIL. The Typ
The U.S. Navy’s duty oiler in the Mediterranean Sea, fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195), is currently finishing a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea supplying the U.S. Navy and its allies with fuel and supplies at sea, Dec. 11, 2014. Grumman, a Military Sealift Comman
Portsmouth-based frigate HMS Kent joined forces with a US Navy carrier strike group when she linked up with the USS Carl Vinson in the Persian Gulf. The Type 23 has also been helping French allies during her first major work period upon arrival in the Middle East. The Vinson is carrying out strikes
With a flash of fire and smoke Royal Navy warship HMS Richmond has bared her teeth as she blasted targets into oblivion using two Seawolf missiles. The Type 23 frigate destroyed two fast sea skimming targets while on a live firing exercise off the South coast exercise areas, demonstrating the power
US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) arrived to Souda Bay, Greece, on December 10. The vessel pulled into the Marathi NATO pier facility during a scheduled port visit. Leyte Gulf, homeported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of
849 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) has set off for the Gulf this week to support Royal Navy and coalition forces on operations in the Middle East. 849 NAS has played an essential role in training the Culdrose Sea King Force aircrew and engineers as well as supporting frontline operations. It has also supp
Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
Off the coast of Chile the heads of the Royal, Canadian, German and Chilean Navies saluted the fallen of the Great War. Nearly 1,600 British and Commonwealth sailors who were killed when their ships went down at the Battle of Coronel in 1914 – the Royal Navy’s first major defeat in more than a centu
With less than a week to go before they arrive back in the UK, HMS Bulwark’s embarked Royal Marines put on a showstopper by storming a beach in Gibraltar. Exercise Sea Snake saw commandos from Charlie Company 40 Commando and 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (ASRM) land on East Beach in Gibraltar for
Whilst deployed on operations in the Middle East, HMS Defender’s helicopter Miss Adventure has celebrated her 35th birthday. The Westland Lynx Mk 8 helicopter normally based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovil has been embarked on the fifth Type 45 Destroyer since the Ship departed Portsmouth at the b
On 10 December 2014 Spanish Navy warship ESPS Navarra headed for home after completing a deployment with the EU Naval Force in the Indian Ocean. ESPS Navarra joined Operation Atalanta, the EU’s counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, on 23rd July. Since then she has completed a range of dut
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today visited Defence facilities in Plymouth and Devonport, meeting key Royal Navy personnel and engaging with city officials and industrial partners over forthcoming investment plans to transform part of the naval base for commercial use. The visit marks a number of
On Monday 8 December Spanish warship ESPS Rayo joined the EU Naval Force. The ship will be deployed at sea in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden for the next 6 months. Following an intense period of operational sea training, ESPS Rayo departed her home port of Las Palmas on 17 November, with an [&hel
