The Royal Navy survey ship HMS Echo has picked up the baton where sister ship HMS Enterprise left off to begin her second 18-month deployment in three years. The ship sailed from the South West after HMS Enterprise returned to Plymouth from nine months away to spend the next year and a half updating
The BAE Systems built Aft Island of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier was loaded onto a sea-going barge on June 11 ahead of its journey from the company’s Scotstoun site to Rosyth. The Aft Island, also known as Upper Block 14, is the final section of the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth t
Between 6th and 10th June, the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) flagship NRP Álvares Cabral visited Mombasa, Kenya. During the visit the EU NAVFOR Force Commander, Commodore Jorge Novo Palma, visited several Kenyan authorities to discuss co-operation and knowledge sharing in order to enhance maritime secu
Portsmouth helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious is being put through her paces as she prepares for her autumn deployment on Exercise Cougar 13. Since May 20 and until June 13 Lusty has been based in Plymouth with Flag Officer Sea Training staff who are preparing the ship’s company for every possible e
On the command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), members of the Striking and Support Forces NATO (SFN) and U.S. 6th Fleet completed a week of training on integrating U.S. Forces with NATO, June 7. The event allowed the two staffs to practice the seamless integration of U.S. carrier or exp
Sandown Class mine hunter HMS Bangor will visit North Ayrshire from June 14 to 16 and will be open to members of the public. The 450-tonne ship is calling at Largs as part of the year’s celebrations of the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Largs. And this June weekend marks the Gathering of the [&h
Britain’s brand new Type 45 Destroyer sailed from Portsmouth for the first time to undertake two days of training and assessment under the supervision of staff from Flag Officer Sea Training organisation. It was also the first time she sailed under the White Ensign. For HMS Duncan, this period of tr
On June 3rd, during a port visit to Dar Es Salaam, French frigate, FS Nivôse organised local maritime capacity building (LMCB) training with the Tanzanian Navy. This training built on the training conducted by FS Guepratte a few days earlier. Twelve members of the Tanzanian Coast Guard were briefed
The UK Navy’s next-generation helicopter is undergoing its latest series of trials by practising landing aboard amphibious support ship RFA Mounts Bay. Experts from 700W Naval Air Squadron – formed specially to bring the new helicopter into service – have been flying on and off the deck off the Sout
New proposals could save British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds by changing the rules which govern how UK MOD contracts are awarded. The proposals to reform single source procurement regulations, set out by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond on June 10, form part of the government’s Better D
Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset arrived in the Isles of Scilly over the weekend to support the islands’ 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Atlantic and to reaffirm relations. Whilst anchored in St Mary’s Roads the ship welcomed more than 500 islanders and tourists on board from Fri
Officer Cadets under training at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) have been given an insight into the Royal Navy’s Mine Clearance Diving branch during a visit to the College by the Southern Diving Unit One (SDU1). The Unit, based in Plymouth, gave the Cadets a brief on their role in bomb disposa
HMS Dragon helped shepherd a gigantic gas tanker through one of the world’s most important ‘choke points’ during an exercise to hone protecting sea trade. The Type 45 destroyer joined forces with other Royal Navy and US Navy vessels, escorting the 130,000-tonne tanker through the narrows between the
Sandown class mine hunter HMS Penzance has left Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard with enhanced operational capability, sustainability and habitability standards, following a successful six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)) by Babcock. The support period was completed under the Surface Ship Support All
