A French Navy Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft conducted its first ever operational flight as part of EUNAVFOR’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia on June 7. An upgraded version of the Breguet Atlantic that made its first flight in 1961, Atlantique 2 is joining four other aircraft from Spain,
Two frigates and a patrol vessel are conducting a maritime security operation in the Western Mediterranean as part of NATO’s operation Sea Guardian. Led by a French Navy Captain onboard French frigate FS Guepratte, along with Italian frigate Scirocco and Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel ESPS Serviola
Construction of Australia’s new antarctic supply research vessel (ASRV) started in Romania with a steel-cutting ceremony on May 31. Dutch shipbuilder Damen is in charge of constructing the vessel at its Galati, Romania, shipyard. The shipbuilder is constructing the ASRV for Serco Defence, a subsidia
After concluding amphibious drills with U.S. Marines off Guam recently, French Navy ships FS Mistral and FS Courbet trained with Australian and Spanish Navy ships in Australian waters. The French ships engaged Australian ships Success and Parramatta and the Spanish Navy’s Cristobal Colon in waters t
In the second attack on commercial vessels in just two days, pirates attempted to hijack oil tanker MT NAVIG8 Providence in the Arabian Sea on June 1. The incident, confirmed by EU NAVFOR, took place in the Gulf of Oman as the MT NAVIG8 Providence was sailing 100 nautical miles east of Muscat. Accor
French Navy frigate FS Guepratte, Italian frigate ITS Scirocco and Spanish offshore patrol vessel ESPS Serviola came together on June 1 to perform patrol duties in western Mediterranean waters. The ships will be working under NATO’s maritime security operation Sea Guardian. The group was briefed by
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) joined Royal Moroccan Navy ships for a series of exercises off the coast of Casablanca, Morocco on Tuesday. SNMG2, consisting of flagship Spanish frigate ESPS Blas de Lezo and Turkish frigate TCG Gokceada joined Royal Moroccan Navy ships Mohammed V
Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth intercepted a fishing dhow carrying £65m worth of cannabis and heroin in the Indian Ocean, the Royal Navy announced on Wednesday without specifying when the action took place. The navy further said sailors aboard the Type 23 frigate destroyed 455kg of cannabis and 266
The Albanian Navy has contracted Nexter for the delivery of remotely operated 20mm Narwhal naval turrets. The NATO country will use the turrets to upgrade its Stan 4207 patrol vessels which have been in service with the Albanian Navy since 2008. Under the contract, Nexter will provide four of the sy
Ships and submarines from the navies of Germany, Norway and the United States completed some 20 days of anti-submarine warfare drills in the Norwegian Sea. Dubbed Eastlant 2017, the Norwegian-hosted exercise started on May 8 and concluded on May 26. Not much has been said about the exercise, and the
Poland is hosting 40 ships from 14 nations for this year’s edition of the international Baltic Sea exercise BALTOPS 17. Starting June 1, the drill will be the 45th iteration of the annual maritime exercise. Air, maritime, and ground assets from several NATO allies and partner Nations will be involve
Ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania on Friday for a scheduled port visit as part of the group’s deployment to the Baltic Sea. These past weeks, SNMG1 has trained together with the Estonian Navy, the Latvian Navy, and the Swedish Navy and Air Force. On W
The annual combined-joint exercise Saber Strike 17 kicked off with troops and vehicles coming ashore with tactical landing crafts from maritime prepositioning ships in the Baltic Sea to Ventspils, Latvia, May 23-24, 2017. The exercise is held at various locations throughout the Baltic region and Pol
In a true display of multinational military cooperation, ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 escorted a Ro-Ro sealift ship sailing for the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary carrying Norwegian military equipment to Lithuania. The operation, which took place from May 23 to 24, is part of NATO’s enhan
