HMS Lancaster, the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate, returned to Portsmouth December 17 from a nine-month deployment to the North and South Atlantic. The frigate has steamed more than 35,000 nautical miles across four oceans and has visited 23 ports in 18 countries. She was also the first Royal Navy ves
The U.S. Navy’s future DDG 51 destroyer, USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) started its Aegis Combat System testing at the Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard, December 17. The Aegis system light off marks the beginning of combat system testing for the ship. These tests will ensure all combat system equipment
The Australian Minister for Defence, Senator Marise Payne, paid a visit to Austal’s Western Australian shipyard on Wednesday, December 16. The minister toured the shipyard to take a look at the company’s naval vessel design, construction and sustainment capabilities. The Defence Minister’s delegatio
The German frigate FGS Hamburg will return to her homeport in Wilhelmshaven, Germany after spending six months as a NATO unit flagship on December 20. Hamburg was flagship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. The 200 men and women of the FGS Hamburg were commanded by Rear Admiral Jörg Klein, who w
In her third drug seizure so far, HMAS Melbourne has intercepted another 216 kilograms of high-grade heroin in the Middle East worth around $64 million (USD $46.1 million). The heroin was transferred to Melbourne for further analysis. The seizure takes the Royal Australian Navy’s narcotics haul sinc
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer, HMS Defender, has now officially joined the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle in the Middle East in the fight against Daesh. The warship met with the carrier in the Indian Ocean with the goal of enhancing its capabilities in the fight against terrorist grou
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training has been awarded a $72.4 million contract to provide U.S. and United Kingdom Trident II (D5) navigation subsystem engineering support services. The contract will see Lockheed Martin provide U.S. and U.K. fleet support and U.S. and U.K. trainer systems sup
The German frigate is currently on a mission to support the French aircraft carrier in his efforts against the Islamic State terror group in Syria. The two ships recently conducted a replenishment at sea maneuver with the U.S Navy’s replenishment oiler USNS Laramie. After the maneuver was complete,
Indian prime minister Shri Narendra Modi chose the Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya as the venue of the Combined Commanders’ Conference 2015. The minister was introduced to top army, naval and air commanders in waters off the Kerala coast, India. The Combined Commanders’ Conference is a
EUNAVFOR Med operation Sophia air units have recently been augmented by the Hellenic Air Force aircraft Erieye EMB-145H AEW&C and a Spanish Navy AB-212 Helicopter. The Greek aircraft, based in the Hellenic Air Force Base of Elefsis in Greece, is an airborne Command and Control Platform with the capa
Rear Admiral Richard W. Butler who has been the Commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 4 since July 31, 2014 was succeeded by Rear Adm. Bruce H. Lindsey on December 11. The change of command ceremony was also a retirement ceremony since the former Commander Buttler retired from the Navy after more
Two rubber boats, sailing in poor conditions in the Mediterranean Sea, were spotted in the morning of December 14 by a Spanish P3 Orion patrol aircraft deployed to Operation Sophia. The Slovenian corvette SNS Triglav 11, operating within Operation Sophia since October this year, was asked to interve
HMS Artful, the third of overall seven submarines the United Kingdom is building, has joined the Royal Navy fleet. Until now the submarine was owned by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the MOD’s body responsible for procuring and supporting equipment for the armed forces. Defence Minister Phili
The U.S. Navy’s Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) was launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard December 12. The ship was translated from the land level facility to the drydock which was slowly flooded until the ship was afloat. You can watch
