NAVY PEOPLE: MANLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE RETURNS HOME AFTER TOUR OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Manly High School seems like a distant memory to Tara Longley as she and her 190 shipmates aboard HMAS Melbourne return to Sydney today.

They are just back from six months pirate patrol off the Horn of Africa. It’s been Tara’s first overseas deployment.

Tara, 25, now works as part of a highly trained team inside the frigate’s operations room, filled with radar screens and electronic warfare equipment.

Using information from this room, the ship’s command team prevented an act of piracy on a British flagged vessel in the beginning of January.

HMAS PERTH I CANVAS POW MUSTER LIST

A piece of awning canvas which memorialises the names of known survivors who went through the infamous Batavia Bicycle Prisoner of War Camp afterHMAS Perth (I) was sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait was presented to the RAN Heritage Centre yesterday.

Ms Sarah Seymour gifted the canvas to the Perth Association, which in turn presented it to the Naval Heritage Collection where it will now be preserved. Survivors Gordon Steele, John Wood and Frank McGoven watched on as the parchment was presented to CDRE Andrew Smith, RAN who accepted it on behalf of the Navy, and saw for the first time their names recorded.

Cumberland goes 'beyond the call of duty' to rescue civilians in Libya

HMS Cumberland is due back in Malta today after her second rescue mission to save foreigners caught up in Libya’s spiralling civil war.

Some 200 civilians – many of them oil workers from refineries in eastern Libya – boarded the frigate in driving rain in rebel-held Benghazi yesterday.

The port is the focal point of the international evacuation effort and several hundred Britons are still thought to be spread across the country.

MINISTER CONGRATULATES THE ADFA'S NEW OFFICERS

Representing the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon today, Gai Brodtmann, Member for Canberra, congratulated 350 midshipmen and officer cadets who were officially welcomed into the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) during the annual Chief of the Defence Force Parade.

Ms Brodtmann said the parade is a significant milestone for the cadets as it signifies the completion of their Year One Familiarisation Training.

“Over the last five weeks they have been forced out of their comfort zones, and they have had to adapt to working and living in a military environment, but their steadfast determination has allowed them to complete the first phase of their military training.

NAVY PEOPLE: BACK FROM PIRATE PATROL

It has been a while since Ben McGregor, 34, padded up and took guard at the crease at Miranda Magpies cricket club.

On 18th February he and his 190 shipmates aboard HMAS Melbourne returned from six months pirate patrol off the Horn of Africa.

Ben is a supervisor in the frigate’s Operations Room with the rank of Petty Officer. His job is to ensure the tactical picture is always up to date, using sensor information from sonar, radar and satellite.

US Regulators State Refusal To Restart Drilling Despite Political Pressure

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that U.S. regulators would not bow to political pressure to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico before they are certain the oil-and-gas industry is capable of containing an oil spill like the one that followed last BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Salazar and Michael Bromwich–the head of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which oversees offshore drilling–were in Houston Friday to meet with oil industry executives to assess the spill-containment systems they have developed in the wake of nation’s worst-ever marine oil spill.

Bromwich said he was “quite confident that we are getting very close to the point where we can begin issuing deepwater permits.” But he and Salazar said the industry still has work to do before exploration of the Gulf’s deepest waters can resume.

Top-Level Talks Focus on US-Pakistani Operations

Oman: Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the top commanders reasonable for carrying out the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy met here today with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss regional security issues and explore new ways to better coordinate military operations.

In addition to Mullen, Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command; Navy Adm. Eric Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command; and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, participated in the day-long session.

UAE, Russia sign $74-million contract on modernization of BMP-3 amphibious vehicles

ABU DHABI | The United Arab Emirates and Russian state arms exporter Rosoboron export signed a $74-million contract on the modernization of 135 Russian BMP-3 (amphibious infantry fighting vehicle), UAE Armed Forces official spokesman Major-General Obaid Al Hairi Salem Al Ketbi said on Thursday, according to RIA Novosti.

Russia sent its delegation to IDEX 2011, an international defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on February 20-24.

Russian defense ministry is about to purchase 100 warships till 2020, reports RIA Novosti referring to deputy defense minister Vladimir Popovkin. According to him, procurement of ships will be carried out under State Arms Program 2011-2020 and will imply 20 submarines, 35 corvettes, and 15 frigates. Popovkin did not specify what kind of other 30 ships the Navy intends to buy. 

State Arms Program 2011-2020 has not been approved yet; its parameters are still uncertain. As was previously reported, defense ministry would receive RUR 19 trillions under this program. According to Russian Navy Main HQ, part of these funds will be appropriated for renovation of Black Sea Fleet (BSF).

Piracy affecting Grindrod

JSE-listed shipping and logistics business Grindrod says piracy has affected the group’s earnings in the year to December. CE Alan Olivier says piracy off the Horn of Africa has had a negative impact on the South African firm's bottom line.

Business Report newspaper says today the miscreants have affected particularly in the group’s Capesize bulk carrier business that mostly carries contractual cargo from Brazil into the Persian Gulf region. Olivier said Grindrod had to divert its ships around the high-risk zone in the Indian Ocean as far as possible, which obviously added significant cost. “Effectively we are losing a voyage a year so when we would be doing six voyages a year (a ship) we are now doing five voyages a year and receiving the same revenue,” he told he business daily.

Culdrose sailors take giant steps

A Sea King from 771 Naval Air Squadron lifts a metal stairway out of the English Channel – one of the more unusual ‘rescue’ missions the Ace of Clubs have been called to.

The steps in question lead from the top of rocks at Porth Kerris, near St Keverne on the Lizard peninsula, down to the sea.

They were used by divers from all three Services – the imaginatively-titled Porth Kerris building nearby, which is looked after by Culdrose staff, serves as the frogmen’s dedicated ‘clubhouse’.

Winter storms ripped the stairway off the rock and tossed them into the sea – prompting a two-stage rescue operation.

First a team from HMS Seahawk Sub Aqua Club moved the steps into deeper waters – where they’d receive less of a battering from the waves – by borrowing some special lifting bags from fellow divers in Falmouth.

HMAS SYDNEY FUND-RAISER FOR INFANTS’ HOME

HMAS Sydney (Captain Peter Leavy) strengthened Navy’s links with the wider community recently when she raised $5,000 for her adopted charity, The Infants’ Home, which is dedicated to giving young children an opportunity for happy and fulfilling lives.

Sydney hosted the launch of The Infants’ Home’s ‘Priceless Gift of Opportunity’ campaign, which aims to raise $6.5 million to build a state-of-the-art integrated Early Learning and Care Centre.

More than 80 VVIPs including the NSWGovernor, Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir attended Sydney’s cocktail party and ceremonial sunset at Fleet Base East on February 24.

Fire On The Horizon – Hits Bookstores Nationwide This Tuesday!

Fire On The Horizon – the new book by gCaptain – hits bookstore shelves nationwide this TUESDAY!

The reviews have been amazing, hundreds of mariners and offshore oil workers have pre-ordered copies and, more importantly, the story is significant in its focus on the people – not the politics – of the event.

Interested in the book? Show your support for gCaptain and:

1. Be the first to read it by pre-ordering a copy via amazon today.
2. ‘Like’ the book and recieve FREE updates via Facebook or, if you prefer, Twitter.
3. Read about the book’s important dedication.
4. Read reviews of the book online.

Stop back to gCaptain on Monday for more information, and the inside story of writing the book, from author and gCaptain founder John Konrad.

Russian-Indian missile BrahMos to be tested in the Baltic Sea

Russia and India will carry out test launches of jointly developed cruise missile BrahMos in mid-2011 in the Baltic Sea, reports ITAR-TASS citing Executive Director, BrahMos Aerospace Sivathanu Pillai at the defense show IDEX-2011 held in United Arab Emirates. Launches will be performed by the first of thee Project 11356 frigates built by Russian shipyard Yantar for Indian Navy. 

According to Pillai, the missile has been already prepared for tests; certain date of launches will be set when the first Project 11356 frigate finishes mooring trials. The $1.6 bln contract for three Project 11356 frigates was tied in 2007. Yantar shipyard launched the first ship – INS Teg – in Nov 2009, and the second one – INS Tarkash – in June 2010. Expectedly, those ships will be delivered to Indian Navy in 2011-2012. 

Iranian warships delivered arms for Hezbollah to Syrian port

Two Iranian warships passed through the Suez Canal on Feb 22, easily entered the Mediterranean Sea, and anchored at Syrian port Latakia, reports Iranian agency IRNA. The ships delivered "most advanced arms" for Hezbollah, reports Kuwaiti news agency KUNA referring to Israeli newspaper Maariv. 

In particular, undisclosed sources reported that the ships had carried various missiles, rifles, ammunition, and night vision devices. 

With its theatrical cruise via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, Iran tries to evade arms embargo laid on Hezbollah. 

Teekay Tankers To Load Vessel In Libya In Next Couple Of Days

LONDON (Dow Jones)–A Suezmax vessel owned by New York-listed Teekay Tankers Ltd (TNK) is still scheduled to load at a Libyan port over the next couple of days despite port closures by the country’s head of state Col. Moammar Gadhafi, a company spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

“We have a suezmax scheduled for Libya in the next couple of days,” Priscilla Sharun said.

All ports, including Zawia, Tripoli, Benghazi and Misurata, were closed Tuesday, traders in Libya said, with force majeure declared on all imports of gasoline and gas oil.

Russian and Ukrainian fleets commanders took a favorable view of cooperation

Meeting on the Motherland Defenders' Day, commanders of Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and Ukrainian Navy positively estimated their cooperation, reported New Sevastopol. 

BSF Commander Vice Admiral Vladimir Korolev considers that military cooperation between the two countries "dynamically develops". 

"This fact is proved by successful training (I insist, successful) of Ukrainian submariners at Russian sub and bilateral agreement to resume practical phase of annual Russian-Ukrainian naval exercise Fairway of Peace. Joint drills, exercises, crew interaction, and finally, protection of Russian and Ukrainian sea borders are main trends of our cooperative activity", said Korolev. 

Black Sea Fleet should expand presence in Crimea – politician

Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) must expand its presence in Crimea; particularly, reinforcing naval base in Feodosiya and reconstructing base at Lake Donuzlav, said Andrei Kozenko, leader of Crimean organization "Russian Unity". 

According to him, enlargement of Black Sea Fleet's presence in Crimea would contribute to security and state budget revenue. 

"Opinion of inefficiency and weakness of Russia's Black Sea Fleet expressed by the leader of anticonstitutional grouping "Majlis" Mustafa Dzhemilev is just a subjective belief of some politicians trying to show their wishes as reality. It is impossible to find an example in history when Russian Black Sea Fleet failed to repress an enemy's aggression and maintain stability in the Black Sea. Black Sea Fleet's participation in the South Ossetian conflict in Aug 2008 proved its full combat worthiness", said Kozenko. 

Ukrainian defense minister pays working visit to Russia

Ukrainian defense minister Mikhail Yezhel arrived to Russia on Thursday, reports Russian Ministry of Defense. 

"It is planned that the minister would visit units of Western, Central, and Eastern Military Districts", said official press release of Russian defense ministry. 

At first, Yezhel will visit 5th Infantry Brigade located in Alabino, Moscow region; the base's infrastructure and training process will be shown to the minister. 

Protesters in Moscow called to save armed forces from Serdiukov

Military servicemen met together at Poklonnaya Gora square in Moscow on Feb 23. The protest action was initiated by the Union of Russian Airborne Troopers. Participants of the meeting called to save Russian Armed Forces from the minister Anatoly Serdiukov. 

Instead of celebrating the Motherland Defenders' Day, servicemen have to protect their rights and struggle for survival of Russian Armed Forces. Such words were said from a jackleg platform mounted opposite the Museum of Great Patriotic War. Protesters inveighed against the course of military reforms. According to participants of the meeting, policy of defense ministry headed by Anatoly Serdiukov has virtually resulted in collapse of the armed forces and their non-effectiveness. As a result, today's Russian army is not capable to perform assigned combat tasks any more, said Pavel Popovskikh, the Chairman, Union of Russian Airborne Troopers. 

Last salute for the Mighty Manch

SALUTING the ship which has served the nation for 30 years – and which he has commanded for the past two – Commander Rex Cox bids farewell to HMS Manchester.

The destroyer formally bowed out of the Senior Service this morning as she was decommissioned in Portsmouth Naval Base.

Having sailed the equivalent of 35 times around the globe, Manchester – known affectionately by her 250 sailors as the Mighty Manch or Busy Bee – will sail no more as she makes way for the next generation of destroyers gradually entering service.

Cumberland arrives in Benghazi to begin evacuation of Brits

HMS Cumberland has arrived in the Libyan port of Benghazi to evacuate stranded Britons.

The frigate, which broke off her return journey at the end of a six-month deployment east of Suez, is preparing to embark upwards of 100 Britons trapped in Libya's second city as the North African state descends into anarchy.

An estimated 50-100 British citizens are believed to be stuck in the east of the country, where Libyans have thrown off the shackles off Colonel Gaddafi’s regime.

Cumberland arrived off the port this morning as the British Government sought permission for her to enter harbour. That was given and shortly after mid-day UK time the frigate arrived in Benghazi.

The Foreign Office has been encouraging Britons in eastern Libya to make for the port. Cumberland will take what citizens it can and sail for Valetta in Malta.

Although RAF Hercules and civilian charter planes have been dispatched to the Libyan capital Tripoli, no such option was available in Benghazi's case: the runways are believed to have been damaged during fighting between rebel and government forces.

USS Lincoln Hosts Brunei Military Leaders

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At Sea | USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hosted 16 guests from Brunei while underway Feb. 22, including senior members of military and government agencies, media reporters, and U.S. Embassy representatives, during a visit to reinforce the partnership the U.S. shares with its 7th Fleet partner.

The guests were greeted by Rear Adm. Mark Guadagnini, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, before attending a formal lunch followed by a full day of tours, discussion forums, a personal briefing by strike group aviators, and interaction with the ship's crew.

Deputy Minister of Defense Dato Paduka Mustappa Sirat was the senior member of the delegation, accompanied by Permanent Secretary Dato Paduka Haji Shofry Hj Abdul Ghafor, Permanent Secretary Pengiran Datin Masrainah, Commander of the Joint Operations Center Col. Aziz Tamit, five others from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, four members of the media, and three members of the Embassy staff.

Russia launches $600 bn defence spending drive

MOSCOW: Russia will spend $600 billion in a massive new military procurement drive through 2020, equipping its forces with eight nuclear submarines and hundreds of new warplanes, a top official said on Thursday. 

The spending plan envisages Russia returning its focus to the navy, equipping its new nuclear submarines with Bulava ballistic missiles that have been under development since the late 1990s, Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir Popovkin was quoted as saying. 

"The main task is the modernisation of our armed forces. Nineteen trillion rubles ($600 billion) will be allocated for this," Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. 

The procurement drive, which has been repeatedly flagged by the Kremlin, is a key element of landmark military reforms which aims to revamp the armed forces' Soviet-era structures to cope with the demands of modern warfare.

Naval base gets sonar upgrade

State-of-the-art system to detect submarines worth $3.8 million

The capital region's military sector received another boost Wednesday with the announcement that a new $3.8-million facility will be built at CFB Esquimalt to maintain the navy's submarine-detecting sonar system.

The facility will replace an aging building where work on the Canadian Towed Array Sonar System -CANTASS -is carried out for use in patrol frigates and DDH-class destroyers.

"Because the facility will be newer and state of the art, there will be other functions they'll be able to do in the facility as well," said Capt. Craig Baines, base commander at CFB Esquimalt. "But the primary function of it will to maintain these towed-array systems."

Newbury remembers the sinking of HMS Tigris 68 years on

A service is to be held at a Newbury Church for the town's adopted submarine and its crew, sunk by a German submarine chaser in 1943.

The service which will take place this Sunday at St Nicholas church is held every year in the same month that HMS Tigris sank with all 63 crew on board.

The memorial event attracts up to 100 people a year, including relatives of the 63 crew members.

Newbury adopted the Tigris as part of a national scheme.

Towns all over the UK adopted ships and submarines to raise money for the Navy during World War II.

Chief of Naval Operations visits Bath Iron Works

Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead and Maine Senator Susan Collins in a recent visit to Bath Iron Works.

CNO Adm. Gary Roughead poses for a photo with the keel of the Michael Murphy, which will be christened later this year, during a visit to Bath Iron Works.

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WSJ: Pirate attacks leave round-the-world sailors with tough choices…

Days before the Quest set off on its doomed trek across the Indian Ocean, Bill Rouse, a Texan attempting to sail around the world, made Quest owner Scott Adam an offer.

Pirate attacks had become so intense, that he and a group of yacht owners decided to transport their vessels across the Indian Ocean by cargo ship. Rouse and the others would fly to Turkey to reclaim their yachts. The cost was steep, $35,000 a piece. There was space for the Quest.

Adam declined. The Quest was planning to sail as part of a convoy for safety. Plus, circumnavigating the globe under his own steam “was a life-long quest,” Rouse said Adam told him.

Chevron Sees US Deepwater Drilling Resuming By Midyear

MIDLAND, Texas (Dow Jones)–Chevron Corp. (CVX), the second-largest U.S. oil company, expects to be able to resume its ambitious drilling program in the deep waters of Gulf of Mexico before the first half of 2011 is over, company executives said Wednesday.

“We are getting at the end of the road,” Gary Luquette, Chevron’s head for exploration and production in North America, said. “One time we thought it will be the end of the year, now our estimate is that it could be before the middle of the year.”

The first Chevron wells that are expected to receive permits are Buckskin, an appraisal well, and Moccasin, an exploration well. Both were suspended when the Obama administration enacted a moratorium on deepwater drilling last year, after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

TBS International takes delivery of fifth ‘Roymar Class’ tweendeckers

TBS International announced today that it has taken delivery of the newly-constructed vessel M/V Comanche Maiden from China Communications Construction Company/Nantong Yahua Shipbuilding Group.

The M/V Comanche Maiden is the fifth in a series of six “Roymar Class” 34,000 dwt multipurpose tweendecker vessels that the Company ordered at a purchase price of $35.4 million per vessel. This vessel, like her sister ships, has box-shaped holds, open hatches and fully retractable hydraulic tweendecks, is geared with 35 and 40 ton cranes combinable up to 80 tons, and has a modern fuel-efficient engine enabling the vessel to operate effectively at 15 knots.

MoD considers maritime patrol options

A joint Royal Navy / RAF team is "considering options" for the UK's maritime patrol capability in the long term following the scrapping of the Nimrod MRA4 programme, the MoD has confirmed.

The Portsmouth News this week reported that the MoD may be prepared to spend up to £1bn on a new maritime patrol aircraft to be operated by the Fleet Air Arm.

The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) cancelled the Nimrod MRA4 programme before the nine aircraft had been accepted into service, leading to the closure of RAF Kinloss. 

Armed forces is a guarantee of Russia's peaceful future – Medvedev

Russian Armed Forces is a guarantee of the country's peaceful future, said Tuesday Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. 

"Our armed forces should be worthy, otherwise we can be victims of different tragic events like it sometimes happened in Russian history", said Medvedev appearing at the solemn meeting related with coming Motherland Defenders' Day. 

According to the president, "that is why we must do whatever possible to maintain our Army and Navy at adequate level". 

"Despite the fact that recent years were quite difficult, we've managed to preserve protected expenditure. To me, this is very important for the future of our armed forces", pointed out Medvedev. 

Crimean Tatars: Russian fleet poses no threat; it is much weaker than Turkish Navy

Russian Black Sea Fleet deployed in Crimea constitutes not a military but mostly a political threat, said the leader of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev. 

"Russian fleet poses no threat; it is several times weaker than Turkish Navy. However, Black Sea Fleet has 23,000 military servicemen in Crimea, they're Russians... When you think of how many people have dual citizenship in Crimea, it becomes apparent that Russians even don't need to enter troops from abroad; they've already here, at our territory. Besides, Russian fleet countenances separatists in Crimea. So, we're talking about the threat to Ukraine's integrity", said Dzhemilev in the interview to Kyiv Post. 

Bye, George as support ship sails out of Plymouth

WITH the waves crashing against Plymouth’s outer breakwater, RFA Fort George leaves the Royal Navy’s West Country home for the final time.

The one-stop support ship is one of the ‘forgotten victims’ of the Strategic Defence and Security Review; while all the media attention (and we too fell into this trap admittedly) focused on the demise of HMS Ark Royal, the Harrier jump jets and all four Type 22 frigates, three auxiliaries were also axed – a smaller surface fleet requires a smaller support fleet.

5th Fleet News Brief: Vice Admiral Fox discusses piracy aboard S/V Quest

DOD News Briefing with Vice Adm. Fox via Telephone from Bahrain on Somali Piracy Aboard the S/V Quest

COL. DAVID LAPAN (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Media Operations):  Admiral Fox, it’s Colonel Dave Lapan here at the Pentagon.  How do you hear me?

ADM. FOX:  I hear you loud and clear; how me?

COL. LAPAN:  Okay, sir, we have you loud and clear.

Good morning, all, here at the Pentagon.  And good afternoon to Admiral Fox in Bahrain, we have with us today to talk to you briefly about the incident involving the Sailing Vessel (S/V) Quest.  Vice Admiral Mark Fox is the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.  He also serves as commander of the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet and commander of the Combined Maritime Force.

Detail

U.S. Admiral Provides Details of Somali Piracy Killings

WASHINGTON | Four pirates are dead and 15 are in custody, but not before they killed four Americans in the bloodiest piracy incident in recent history, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command told reporters in a conference call yesterday.

Navy Vice Adm. Mark I. Fox, who also commands the Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the pirates shot Scott and Jean Adams of California and Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle of Washington state. The surface vessel Quest was sailing around the world when the Somalis hijacked it off the coast of Oman.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama authorized the use of force if there was an imminent threat to the hostages. He said the president was informed of their deaths at 4:42 this morning.

Cumberland sent to Libya as crisis deepens

HMS Cumberland is today on stand-by in the Mediterranean as civil unrest in Libya worsens.

The frigate was ordered to international waters off the North African state yesterday as Whitehall became increasingly concerned by the uprising against Colonel Gaddafi's regime – and the dictator's threats to clamp down hard on the rebels.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said Cumberland was being "pre-positioned" off the Libyan coast should an evacuation of British citizens be necessary.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates there are several hundred Britons in Libya presently – and it is looking to bring them home by air or sea.

817 SQUADRON TO FAREWELL GOOLWA

In the year of their decommissioning, three Sea King helicopters and personnel from 817 Squadron will visit their adopted hometown of Goolwa, South Australia this weekend.

About 75 personnel will conduct their final Freedom of Entry (FOE) Parade through the River Port town on Saturday 26 February 2011, from 1025. This will be their third FOE since 1987 when the Squadron conducted their first one.

817 Squadron Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Moggach said the opportunity to visit Goolwa one last time before the Sea Kings were finally retired from service, was an honour for the personnel of the Squadron.

Iran’s naval warships enter Suez Canal first time in 3 decades

Iran's naval warships enter Suez Canal first time in 3 decades

Two Iranian naval warships entered the Suez Canal this Tuesday, en route to the Mediterranean. Israel, which views Iran as a threat, has already called the move a 'provocation'. Iranian officials say the frigate and supply vessel are headed to Syria for a year-long training mission. It's the first time Iran's military ships have sailed those waters since the country's Islamic revolution of 1979. Egypt's Defence ministry says Iran's request stated the vessels would have no military equipment or nuclear materials onboard.

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Egypt to build four Swiftships

An Egyptian shipyard is to assemble two 28-metre Swiftships patrol craft and co-produce two more under a US$20 million contract modification to a Foreign Military Sales Programme purchase approved earlier this month. 

Swiftships Shipbuilders of Morgan City, Louisiana, is being paid US$20 221 529 to design and construct the four coastal patrol craft (CPC). The contract also cover associated crew familiarisation training and technical services for the Egyptian Navy. 

Pirates kill four US hostages near Somalia

Pirates shot dead four US hostages on a private yacht, the deadliest incident involving Americans kidnapped for ransom in the increasingly dangerous waters off Somalia.

The US military said the pirates shot the hostages before American special forces boarded the vessel.

US troops killed two pirates as they took control of the the boat, and took 15 pirates into custody. Another two pirates were found dead when the US special forces arrived but they were not killed by US forces, the military said, Reuters reports.

Most Russians say national armed forces are combat capable - poll

Most Russians (55%) are sure that national armed forces are capable to defend the country, says the poll held by All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (ARPORC); the poll results were published on the threshold of the Motherland Defenders' Day celebrated on Feb 23. 

According to the poll, 44% of respondents assess current state of Russian Army as satisfactory (comparing to 47% in 2010), 29% find it bad (28%), 13% - good (14%). 

Neutral or positive appraisals were typical among young pollees. For instance, 47% of satisfactory marks were given to Russian army by 18-24-year old Russians and only 37% - by elderly citizens.

U.S. Forces Respond to Gunfire Aboard S/V Quest

TAMPA, Fla. (NNS) — At approximately 1 a.m. EST today, while negotiations were ongoing to secure the release of four American hostages, U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the pirated vessel (S/V) Quest.

As they responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest, the forces discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately died of their wounds.

“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander.

Russian Navy to continue drill launches of SLBM Sineva in 2011

Along with flight development tests of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Bulava, Russian Navy will continue drill launches of RSM-54 Sineva missile, reported RIA Novosti on Monday citing a top-ranking source in defense ministry.

"Resuming of SLBM Sineva drill launches proceeds from the demand to keep naval strategic nuclear forces at required operability level", said the interviewee. 

As for him, preparations for coming SLBM Bulava test launch are also in progress. "They [tests] will be resumed when weather conditions and ice situation in the White Sea becomes better. According to our appraisals, this will be possible no earlier than in June", underlined the source. 

He expressed confidence that the newest missile system Bulava would be commissioned in the end of 2011. "At least the missile's flight tests schedule provides this", pointed out the source.

Ukrainian communists: no one can denounce the Black Sea Fleet agreements

Nobody will denounce the agreement prolonging presence of Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, reports ForUm citing Ukrainian MP Evgeny Tsarkov (communist party). 

"If this is possible, we'd denounce the Belavezha Accords signed by trilateral cahoot. If things are so easy, the president could denounce a number of political laws enacted by Kravchuk, Kuchma, and Yushchenko", explained the politician. 

According to Tsarkov, if Russian party would not obey its treaty commitments, it could be a ground to dissolve the agreement. "If next Ukrainian leaders want to denounce the Kharkov Treaty, it would be possible only on these grounds", he said. 

Degradation of Russian Navy will continue – the poll

Degradation of Russian Navy will continue in 2001, say most of respondents (51.8%) visited Russian version of Central Navy Portal taking part in the poll "What is your vision of Russian Navy's future in 2011". 

Negative appraisal is complemented by 16.77% of pollees considering that Russia does not have the Navy at all. 

Only 15.91% of respondents said that 2011 would be good for Russian Navy and it would develop. 

Banners with "ideologically incorrect" aircraft will be replaced in St. Petersburg

Congratulatory banners displaying a Chinese fighter amid Russian national weapons will be replaced; those banners decorate streets of St. Petersburg on the eve of Motherland Defenders' Day, reported RIA Novosti referring to a representative of the city press committee. 

Numerous media agencies wrote about those banners in St. Petersburg's streets on Monday. 

"New festive banners appeared in streets of St. Petersburg last Wednesday displaying ideologically correct Russian warship and tank under Chinese fighter Chengdu J-10 (known in the West as F-10 Vigorous Dragon)", wrote Kommersant Vlast on Monday.