British infantry – believed to include Royal Marines – are to be equipped with a weapon described by Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach as “one of the most effective light machine guns in the world.”

The ceremonies may not have been on the same scale as those in London, but the centenary of the Royal Naval Reserve was celebrated in style in Cyprus.

More ships involved in operations in Iraq have returned to warm welcomes in their home ports.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tireless has suffered minor damage to a ballast tank after she came into contact with a floating object.

The Prince of Wales has formally presented the Sovereign’s Colour for the Royal Navy to the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR) for the first time in their 100-year history.

Type 23 frigate HMS Marlborough slipped into the Australian port of Cairns after her long passage from the Seychelles via Diego Garcia.

The Ministry of Defence has awarded the first contract under one of the Government’s biggest Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

With the Gulf in her wake, Type 23 frigate HMS Marlborough had set course for the Seychelles and a four-day break – news that was greeted with enthusiasm by a ship’s company who had managed just two days ashore at a military base in Bahrain in almost three months.

At 0931 this morning Royal Marines Warrant Officer Dave Pearce and Sherpa Chrring Dorje reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Command of a Naval air squadron passed between two near-neighbours in a small Cornish village – but the ceremony was carried out in the Gulf.

With word passed round that the naval gunfire support (NGS) mission to support Coalition forces going ashore in Southern Iraq on March 21 would go ahead, Type 23 frigate HMS Marlborough moved north and assumed the duties of Scene of Action Commander and NGS Commander.

Ocean-survey ship HMS Scott has returned to Devonport after survey operations in the Indian Ocean.

WHEN HMS Marlborough was released from military operations in the Gulf in early April, her programme was still unclear.

Students from English and Welsh universities took the spoils as Scotland hosted the annual University Royal Naval Units (URNU) Olympiad.

The Royal Navy’s flagship during the Iraq War, HMS Ark Royal, and her escorting destroyer HMS York, returned to a warm welcome in Portsmouth on Saturday, four months after the carrier sailed on a mission shrouded in uncertainty.

Heroes who have won the highest honours for their bravery now have a permanent memorial at Westminster Abbey.

Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll has returned to her home base of Devonport following a busy training period and a visit to Copenhagen.

Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset set off from Plymouth yesterday, Tuesday May 13, for a six-week deployment that will take her to the Baltic and see her take part in exercises both military and vocal.

A Royal Navy warship and a new RFA tanker were called in to help British and Spanish customs officers to seize more than three tonnes of cocaine from a wartime torpedo boat hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic.

An American aircraft carrier which had a central role in the Iraq conflict sailed from Spithead this morning after a brief visit to Portsmouth.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary are a vital component of most Royal Navy operations, and have recently proved their worth in the campaign against Iraq.

The First Sea Lord has put on record his thanks and appreciation for the job done by the Naval Service during operations in Iraq.

A Royal Marine from 45 Commando has become the youngest non-officer ever to be awarded the Military Cross (MC), one of Britain’s highest military honours, for his actions during operations in Afghanistan last year.

Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Turbulent has returned from a record-breaking deployment.

Defence secretary Geoff Hoon has announced further changes to the level of UK forces in the Gulf region as tasks are completed, including Royal Navy ships and Royal Marines – and more Reservists are on standby to play their part in post-war Iraq.