The international maritime search and rescue and non-combatant evacuation exercise Argonaut is underway off Larnaca, Cyprus. The Eastern Mediterranean Sea exercise kicked off on May 27 and will conclude on June 2. Argonaut is designed to increase interoperability by developing individual and collect
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
Austrian unmanned air system manufacturer showcased its CAMCOPTER UAS to Norwegian defense forces and security agencies earlier this month at the Andøya Test Center (ATC). The event, held approximately 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, was attended by the Norwegian Coastguard, Royal Norwegi
Irish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel LÉ Eithne departed the Haulbowline naval base on May 23, starting her Mediterranean Sea deployment. Commanded by Commander Brian FitzGerald, the 72 crew of LÉ Eithne will help fight smuggling and prevent loss of life at sea off the Libyan coast. The operation is d
Future fliers and engineers of the Royal Navy’s Wildcat helicopters spent three weeks off the Portuguese coast recently, waging an all-out imaginary war. With aviation training ship RFA Argus as their home, the pilots and observers were charged with protecting the 28,000-tonne vessel from all threat
The German Navy has received its upgraded Sea King MK41 helicopter simulator ahead of schedule, CAE – the company in charge of the modernization – announced on May 16. The simulator has re-entered service at the Nordholz Naval Airbase in Germany. Previously, Sea King training was conducted on a basi
Royal Navy’s newest sailors from the aircraft handling branch at RNAS Culdrose spent the last six months preparing for their roles on the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers. The motto that they will have to work towards every day of their aircraft handling careers is: Nostris In Manibus Tuti” – “Saf
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri laid the keel for the Italian Navy’s first Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Ship (PPA) on May 9. The ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia. According to Fincantieri, the first of seven offshore patrol ships will be delivered in 2021. The PPA
NATO warships escorted a Russian Navy submarine through the North Sea and the English Channel as it transited in the direction of its Novorossiysk base in the Black Sea. The Royal Navy sent its Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset to shadow the Russian Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar as it passed through the
The Russian newest Black Sea frigate Admiral Essen joined the navy’s permanent task force in the Mediterranean Sea after transiting the Strait of Gibraltar. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Admiral Essen is joining sister ship Admiral Grigorovich to carry out their Mediterranean Sea tas
Portuguese West Sea Shipyards on May 3 launched NRP Sines, the Portuguese Navy’s third Viana Do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV). The shipbuilder said the vessel is set to join the navy by June 2018 and take the place of one of the four decommissioned Baptista de Andrade-class corvettes. N
In addition to being delayed, German Navy’s new Multi-role Combat Ship 180 (Mehrzweckkampfschiff MKS 180) will come with an additional cost of over €500 million, according to media reports. A letter sent by deputy defense minister Markus Gruebel to lawmakers on Tuesday said the extra €500 million ar
Late on Saturday night during a European Union counter-piracy patrol close to the east coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, received a SOS distress call from the master of merchant ship, MT Costina, to say that his vessel was being attacked by a number of armed pirates in a
Works on the Royal Navy’s fifth follow-on River-class offshore patrol vessel began with a steel cutting ceremony on Friday, April 21. Tony Douglas, head of UK’s defense procurement organisation, pressed the button to cut the first sheet of steel for the HMS Spey at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard in Sco
