A total of 14 warships from ten nations took part in this year’s iteration of NATO’s ‘Baltic Fortress’ exercise. The drill was hosted by Lithuania and took place between May 6 and 13. Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1), with Spanish F-100 frigate Álvaro de Bazán at the helm, also took part in
EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta has welcomed back the Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria. The ship was previously deployed on Op Atalanta in 2011 and will be conducting counter-piracy patrols over the coming five months. ESPS Santa Maria has an embarked Seahawk helicopter on board, allowing her to
Rear Admiral Ken Cheong, Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, recently visited the EU NAVFOR’s operation Atalanta flagship, FGS Bayern in Salalah in the Gulf of Aden. Radm Cheong, who works for Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), met the Force Commander EU NAVFOR, Radm Jan Kaack, onboard FGS Baye
German Navy’s diver support ship FGS Rottweil (M 1061) set sail for Klaipeda, Lithuania on May 12. The vessel and its crew will join minesweepers from different nation to take part in NATO’s ‘Open Spirit’ maneuver. Open Spirit arose from from the exercises of the joint mine countermeasures squadron
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Meteoro recently helped technicians from the PLOCAN (Canary Islands Oceanic Platform) recover a damaged glider travelling from Madeira to the Canary Islands conducting several oceanographic surveys. The AUV, also known as Glider, was recovered 40 miles north of
The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Romania was deemed as operationally certified in a ceremony held in Deveselu, May 12, and thereby marked a key milestone to complete Phase II of the European Phased Adaptive Approach. This ballistic missile defense system represents an increase in the capab
Spanish Navy’s Segura-class minesweeper ESPS Turia will join NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 which operates in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Crewed by 44 sailors and commanded by Captain Enrique Miguel García Morera, the ship set sail from Naval Base Cartagena, Spain on May 12 and i
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems a $76,1 million contract for the procurement of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) Block I production material. Raytheon’s ESSM missile is an international upgrade of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile. The missile was developed by
German Navy’s tanker support ship, FGS Spessart, joined Operation Atalanta on May 11, as part of Germany’s contribution to the EU’s efforts to deter and disrupt piracy off the coast of Somalia. The ship departed the Wilhelmshaven base and set sail for the Horn of Africa on April 15, 2016. Under the
German Navy’s Bremen-class frigate is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony on May 13, 2016. Due to construction works at the navy yard in Wilhelmshaven the ceremony will take place at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The 4th Frigate Squadron Commander, Captain at Sea, Thorste
Spanish offshore patrol vessel ESPS Tornado, currently deployed to Operation Atalanta, recently visited the Seychelles. During the port visit Spanish sailors co-operated with Seychelles forces. The training began with theory lessons on board ESPS Tornado and was followed by practical training on Sai
The Royal Navy has hosted a number of organizations working on unmanned maritime systems for the main planning conference for October’s Unmanned Warrior. The demonstration of unmanned systems overlaid onto the twice-yearly multinational Joint Warrior exercise staged off western Scotland will allow t
Australia has contracted Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to build two replacement replenishment ships for the Royal Australian Navy. Although the ships would be built in Spain and not in Australia, what the government opposition objected to, Australian Defence minister Marise Payne said that more than
A small team of about 20 Royal Danish Air Force officers and enlisted men fly along the coast of Somalia, verifying shipping activity, distinguishing legitimate maritime traffic from suspected pirate vessels and identifying probable pirate activities off the coastline of Somalia. The crew operates a
