U.S. Marine and Fleet Forces commands (USFF and MARFORCOM) kicked off exercise Bold Alligator 2016 (BA16) in Norfolk on August 15. BA16 is a synthetic, scenario-based simulation exercise designed to train Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 and 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2d MEB). As part of the
Whilst on counter-piracy patrol off the coast of Somalia recently, operation Atalanta’s Force Commander hosted the Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, Rear Admiral Nam of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy. The ROK Admiral was welcomed aboard Operation Atalanta’s Dutch flagship, HNLMS Tromp, b
German Navy’s F123 Brandenburg-class frigate FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will depart her homeport in Willhelmshaven on August 16 to join the EU mission against human trafficking in the Mediterranean Sea. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is expected to join the EUNAVFOR Op Sophia at the beginning of September,
German and U.S. Navy mine warfare experts are preparing to take their technology to the Baltic Sea, including acoustic and magnetic sensors, to operate side by side and see the differences and to learn from one another with the goal of advancing technologies and techniques for the detection, classif
Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine (HMCS) Windsor arrived at its homeport in Halifax on August 9, returning from the NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2016. The submarine spent little over 50 days underway during her deployment that was initially postponed in June. Windsor had to return to port after it
Minehunters from the U.S. and Royal Navy conducted the quarterly mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise Squadex-16 in the Arabian Gulf, July 30 through August 5. Participating naval vessels included U.S. Navy mine countermeasures ships USS Gladiator (MCM 11) and USS Sentry (MCM 3), U.K. landing ship do
METU-16, the Finnish Navy’s annual firing exercise, will be held from August 22 to 26 and August 29 to September 2 in the Archipelago Sea and the Gulf of Finland, the navy has informed. Hämeenmaa-class minelayers, Katanpää-class Mine Hunter Coastal Vessels, Rauma- and Hamina-class fast attack missil
Operation Atalanta welcomed back Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp to the EU Naval Force off the coast of Somalia on August 6. Tromp’s crew departed their home port of Den Helder in the Netherlands on July 20 to join the mission for a second time as the frigate was part of Operation Atalanta back in 2010. I
Spanish Navy minehunter ESPS Turia has returned to her home port in Cartagena after a three-month deployment to the the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2). During her with SNMCMG-2, Turia took part in Spanish and Italian Minex exercises and later in exercises Breeze and Sea Shield
German Navy’s Rhön-class tanker FGS Spessart has left the EU Naval Force and Operation Atalanta fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia. The ship spent eighty eight days and sailed over 13,600 nautical miles after leaving Wilhelmshaven navy base on April 18. The EU naval task force is deployed to t
Royal Navy mine disposal experts watched their Japanese counterparts work during the large-scale exercise 2JA 2016. Two British observers joined the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force at its major annual test of its minehunting forces in Mutsu Bay at the northern tip of main island of Honshu. Some
UK’s Ministry of Defence is considering granting over £1 billion to Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems so they can start building the first of four Successor ballistic missile submarines. According to a report by The Financial Times, the Ministry might allocate approx. $1.3 billion of funds as early as Sep
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems a $36.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract option for design agent and engineering support services for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) upgraded MK-31 Guided Missile Weapon System improvement program. The MK-31 RAM Guided M
German Navy minehunter FGS Datteln rescued 133 migrants 75 kilometers north-west of Tripoli, Libya on August 1. The ship was initially tasked by the Force Headquarters to neutralize two empty rubber boats. While doing so, the ship’s crew spotted an overcrowded rubber boat in the vicinity. Upon rescu
