The third of the new Astute Class attack submarines, Artful, has officially been handed over to the Royal Navy. 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. The boat and her crew will now be added to the… Continue reading THIRD ASTUTE SUBMARINE FORMALLY HANDED OVER TO THE ROYAL NAVY
Category: On Watch
HMS BULWARK RETURNS TO PLYMOUTH
Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, HMS Bulwark, has returned to Plymouth from operations in the Mediterranean after leading a major Royal Navy deployment. The Plymouth-based ship was leading this year’s exercise Cougar comprising exercises with the French Navy off Corsica and then Exercise Trident Juncture, the largest NATO exercise for a decade involving 30 nations,… Continue reading HMS BULWARK RETURNS TO PLYMOUTH
HMS ST ALBANS DEPLOYS ON SECURITY OPERATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
HMS St Albans will continue the work that her sister ship, HMS Richmond, carried out earlier this year as part of the Royal Navy’s long term presence East of Suez. Her task is to police the seas and promote UK interests in the region by acting as a deterrent to illegal activity, safeguarding allied and… Continue reading HMS ST ALBANS DEPLOYS ON SECURITY OPERATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
HMS RICHMOND’S DRUGS SEIZURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
The crew of a Royal Navy warship have seized around £3m worth of cannabis during a security patrol in the Mediterranean. The Portsmouth based frigate HMS Richmond sent up her Lynx helicopter that spotted what was believed to be a drug smuggling boat and immediately moved in to investigate. With HMS Richmond nearby her Royal… Continue reading HMS RICHMOND’S DRUGS SEIZURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
UNMANNED WARRIOR DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY
The Royal Navy is staging its first ‘robot wars’ next autumn to give companies the chance to demonstrate their latest technology in a realistic work-out during Exercise Joint Warrior 16/2 off Scotland. Unmanned Warrior will provide an international showcase for industry as firms demonstrate what their autonomous systems can do for naval warfare. The delegates,… Continue reading UNMANNED WARRIOR DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY
FRERES D’ARMES – BROTHERS IN ARMS
Over the course of several hours, the Portsmouth based warship took part in complex air defence training with six Mirage 2000 fighter jets. The training demonstrated the strong partnership that exists between the allied nations and culminated in an impressive visual show of unity as the six aircraft formed up to fly past the British… Continue reading FRERES D’ARMES – BROTHERS IN ARMS
ROYAL MARINES RESERVES HONE FIRING AND BATTLEFIELD SKILLS
Around 100 Reservists honed their skills on Exercise Commando Phoenix at Sennelager Training Area in Germany, with the exercise aiming to improve upon tactical training held in the UK over the past year. Over the fortnight, the marines used 13 rifle and live firing ranges starting from individual close-quarters battle and working up to large-scale… Continue reading ROYAL MARINES RESERVES HONE FIRING AND BATTLEFIELD SKILLS
TRIDENT JUNCTURE SUCCESS FOR ROYAL NAVY
Played out like a battlefield re-enactment, NATO representatives witnessed Royal Marines, from 45 Commando, simulate the storming of a beach in Troia, Portugal. Working alongside US marines the men from Zulu Company, 45 Cdo, came ashore in landing craft from HMS Bulwark before retaking a peninsula from hostile enemies; while that was happening Portuguese marines… Continue reading TRIDENT JUNCTURE SUCCESS FOR ROYAL NAVY
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF AT SEA DEMONSTRATION 15
Members of the Maritime Theatre Missile Defence (MTMD) Forum used Exercise Joint Warrior to carry out a number of operationally realistic test serials prior to the shooting down of a ballistic missile. At Sea Demonstration 15 (ASD15) was the culmination of years of planning and its main event, one of over 30, saw the simultaneous… Continue reading SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF AT SEA DEMONSTRATION 15
HMS ENTERPRSE AND HMS RICHMOND RESCUE OVER 540 MIGRANTS
As part of the Royal Navy’s assistance to the EU Naval Force Operation in the Mediterranean countering migrant smugglers, HMS Enterprise has rescued 439 migrants and HMS Richmond has rescued 102 migrants. This comes just three days after HMS Richmond arrived on task, with new powers to board and seize smuggling vessels, as well as… Continue reading HMS ENTERPRSE AND HMS RICHMOND RESCUE OVER 540 MIGRANTS