US Navy’s Spain-based Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) completed its sixth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations, returning to its forward-deployed location at Naval Station Rota on May 7. Ross departed Rota Jan. 8, 2018, and in the course of its four-month patr
French defense minister Florence Parly announced on May 4 that another Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine was ordered for the French Navy. According to a defense ministry statement, the decision to order the fifth boat in the class was made during a defense ministry meeting on May 2. The new g
The first German Navy vessel to deploy in 2018 is returning home after concluding a five-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the EU-led operation Sophia. FGS Sachsen, the lead ship of the German Navy’s F124 air defense frigates, is set to return to her homeport in Wilhelmshaven on M
An international mine countermeasure exercise got underway on Australia’s New South Wales south coast at Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base HMAS Creswell on May 7. The biennial Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Countermeasures and Diving Exercise (MCM DIVEX) is set to conclude after two week
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender returned to her homeport in Portsmouth concluding her first underway period after undergoing an 18-month refit. The ship put her systems and personnel to the test over the seven-day period following the major upkeep which saw two new gas turbines fitted alon
Chief of US Naval Operations, Adm. John Richardson, unveiled plans to reestablish the US 2nd Fleet amid the increasing power competition on a global scale. This was announced during a change of command ceremony for US Fleet Forces Command (USFF) in Norfolk on May 4. Second Fleet will likely be react
The US Department of Defense has officially offered to host the proposed NATO Joint Force Command for the Atlantic at its naval facilities in Norfolk, Virginia. The new JFC-Norfolk will ensure that NATO can successfully conduct operations across the full spectrum of Alliance missions in the trans-At
21 military ships, 10 combat aircraft and a submarine are taking part in Sea Shield 18 from May 4 to 11. Sea Shield is an annual, Romania-led multinational exercise in the Black Sea designed to improve interoperability and combat proficiency of participating units. As informed by the Romanian Navy,
The expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Millinocket departed Makassar, Indonesia, on May 4, marking the US Navy’s first visit to the port. The port visit served to strengthen the US-Indonesia partnership while reinforcing mutual commitment to bilateral and multilateral exercises and future port v
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan recently led a meeting of NATO vessels in the Aegean Sea. The destroyer is currently flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. Duncan, in company with the Turkish frigate TCG Gemlik and Spanish frigate ESPS Victoria, met up with German frigate FGS Bayern a
The naval enterprise is investing in its people and capabilities to build a more lethal force in the age of great power competition, US Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “We’re building the Navy the nation needs and the Marine Corps of the future,” Spencer said at a Pentagon news briefing on M
French president Emmanuel Macron met with Royal Australian Navy personnel during a three-day visit to Australia. In a sign of strengthening ties between the two countries, Macron and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited submarine HMAS Waller and landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra berthed at Ga
Deeper collaboration between Australia and France in advanced sonar and naval robotics technology will flow from a research agreement announced in Sydney today during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Flinders University in South Australia,
Australia and Indonesia have concluded in Bali a coordinated patrol aimed at improving security along the shared maritime border. Coordinated maritime patrol AUSINDO CORPAT 2018, the eighth iteration of the exercise, began in Darwin on April 16 following seven days of joint exercises between the two
