ManilaBoy45.. I get the majority of the photos in this thread, The World military picture thread and the US military picture thread at With the permission of the original poster.. The USN pix are the only ones I post myself.
HMS Illustrious's Type 996 radar. A variant of the BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies AWS-9 3-D naval radar, Type 996 is the United Kingdom Royal Navy's (RN) nomenclature for the E/F-band, 3-D surveillance and target indication radar that has been used with the service's Sea Dart and Seawolf surface-to-air missile systems. The equipment utilises a multibeam, phased-array antenna that rotates at 30 rpm and has a co-mounted identification friend-or-foe array. (Photographer: PO(Phot) Ray Jones)
A Rigid Inflatable Boat (top) from HMS Illustrious exercises with an Albanian Naval Forces 44' Archangel Patrol Boat in the Adriatic Sea. HMS Illustrious was operating off the coast of Albania conducting board exercises with fellow NATO member Albania. Members of the ships boarding party boarded the patrol boat from the Albanian Navy which was playing the part of a suspect vessel. Supporting the exercise was a Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron which hovered overhead providing top cover to the boarding teams. Boarding operations are regularly practised by Royal Navy ships as they can be called upon to do this at any time, anywhere in the world. HMS Illustrious is taking part in Cougar, a three month deployment to the Mediterranean as part of the United Kingdom’s Response Force Task Group, exercising with key allies. Exercises will include Corsican Lion, which will test the maritime element of the UK-French Joined Expeditionary Force, and Exercise Albanian Lion which will provide superb faculties for the Lead commando group to train with Albanian forces, consolidating our relationship. (Photographer: LA(Phot) Dean Nixon)
A Rigid Inflatable Boat (top) from HMS Illustrious exercises with an Albanian Naval Forces 44' Archangel Patrol Boat in the Adriatic Sea. HMS Illustrious was operating off the coast of Albania conducting board exercises with fellow NATO member Albania. Members of the ships boarding party boarded the patrol boat from the Albanian Navy which was playing the part of a suspect vessel. Supporting the exercise was a Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron which hovered overhead providing top cover to the boarding teams. Boarding operations are regularly practised by Royal Navy ships as they can be called upon to do this at any time, anywhere in the world. HMS Illustrious is taking part in Cougar, a three month deployment to the Mediterranean as part of the United Kingdom’s Response Force Task Group, exercising with key allies. Exercises will include Corsican Lion, which will test the maritime element of the UK-French Joined Expeditionary Force, and Exercise Albanian Lion which will provide superb faculties for the Lead commando group to train with Albanian forces, consolidating our relationship. (Photographer: LA(Phot) Dean Nixon)
A Sea King Mark 7 Airbourne Surveillance And Control (SKASAC) helicopter from 854 Naval Air Squadron takes off from the deck of a Type 45 destroyer for the first time. Able to provide surveillance and early airborne warning, the Sea King Mark 7 can conduct maritime security operations while deployed on a maritime unit in the Arabian Gulf. It was in company with Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond, which is currently in the region. The SKASACs are presently exercising with Royal Navy ships in the area. For the last few years units from the squadron have been deployed to Afghanistan, where their performance in providing airborne support to units on Op HERRICK has been of critical importance. Using the techniques honed from these deployments they are bolstering surveillance at sea by demonstrating their ability to detect even small contacts at range and report them to friendly units. The exercises were carried out while Diamond was conducting maritime security operations in the Gulf Region. It was also a good experience for the aviation team in the ship to handle the requirements of a different class of aircraft. (Photographer: LA(Phot) Gary Weatherston)
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless cuts through rough weather in the South Atlantic during her deployment to the area. HMS Dauntless, the second of the T45 Destroyers, joined the Fleet in November 2010, shortly after being the first of class to fire the new Sea Viper missile. Since then she has proved her capability helping to ‘protect’ the USS Carrier Battle Group in Exercise Saxon Warrior as the American units approached the UK in May. Reversing the tables she then crossed ‘the pond’ in company with the Russian Destroyer Admiral Chabanenko to take part in FRUKUS 2011 – the letters come from France, Russia, UK and US who make up the annual exercise. While in the US she took the opportunity to find the warmest waters easily reachable without having to go through Suez to test the resilience of the T45 systems in hotter water. (Photographer: LA(Phot) Wilson)
HMS Severn at sea off the coast of Portsmouth. HMS Severn is one of the trio of Offshore Patrol Vessels ploughing the seas around the UK almost every day of the year. The ship is the second River-class built by Vosper Thornycroft at their Woolston yard and she became the penultimate ship to be built there. The 3 River class Offshore Patrol Vessels patrol the UK EEZ, routinely operating hundreds of miles off the UK coast. Their primary role is to deliver maritime security, encompassing fishery protection and Marine Management tasks on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation, as well as a wide range of operations to ensure the security, integrity, and safety of UK waters. (Photographer: LA Gregg Macready)
Royal Marines with 42 Commando are pictured during live firing traning in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. Working from the US Marine Corps’ Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM were using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terrain in which to operate. (Photographer: L(Phot) Jason Ballard)
Royal Marines with 42 Commando are pictured during live firing traning in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. Working from the US Marine Corps’ Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM were using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terrain in which to operate. (Photographer: L(Phot) Jason Ballard)
Royal Marines with 42 Commando are pictured during live firing traning in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. Working from the US Marine Corps’ Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM were using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terrain in which to operate. (Photographer: L(Phot) Jason Ballard)
Royal Marines with 42 Commando are pictured during live firing traning in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. Working from the US Marine Corps’ Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM were using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terrain in which to operate. (Photographer: L(Phot) Jason Ballard)
A Challenger 2 main battle tank is pictured during manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain near Warminster. The superb Challenger 2 (CR2) is the British Army's Main Battle Tank. CR2 is based on the Challenger 1 that served with distinction on operations in the Gulf War and the Balkans. Only 5 per cent of Challenger 2 components are interchangeable with its predecessor; over 150 major modifications include a completely new turret, L30 CHARM 120mm gun and second generation Chobham armour. Challenger 2's Thermal Observation and Gunnery (TOGS) displays a magnified image for the commander and gunner. The commander has a gyro-stabilised fully panoramic sight with laser range finder and thermal imager. The gunner is equipped with a gyro-stabilised primary sight with a laser range finder and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight. The driver's position has an image-intensifying day and night periscope, and the loader has a day sight. (Photographer: POA(Phot) Terry Seward)
A Challenger 2 main battle tank lays down a smoke screen during manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain near Warminster. The superb Challenger 2 (CR2) is the British Army's Main Battle Tank. CR2 is based on the Challenger 1 that served with distinction on operations in the Gulf War and the Balkans. Only 5 per cent of Challenger 2 components are interchangeable with its predecessor; over 150 major modifications include a completely new turret, L30 CHARM 120mm gun and second generation Chobham armour. Challenger 2's Thermal Observation and Gunnery (TOGS) displays a magnified image for the commander and gunner. The commander has a gyro-stabilised fully panoramic sight with laser range finder and thermal imager. The gunner is equipped with a gyro-stabilised primary sight with a laser range finder and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight. The driver's position has an image-intensifying day and night periscope, and the loader has a day sight. (Photographer: POA(Phot) Terry Seward)
