U.S. Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships completed their participation in this year’s bilateral training exercise MultiSail 17 on March 10. The six-day exercise consisted of surface action group maneuvers, anti-submarine training, and various other events that tested warfight
The UK Royal Navy today formally named HMS Forth, the first of its five new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels. The 90-metre warship, which will be tasked with vital counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling and maritime defence duties, was named HMS Forth in honour of the Scottish river in a cerem
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) assisted in the medical evacuation of a Pakistani Navy sailor on March 6. The sailor, assigned to Zulfiquar-class frigate PNS Aslat was in need of medical attention. “After finding out the status of the patient, I coordinated with my corpsme
Members of the Slovak military police have traveled to Germany to prepare for their deployment to the EUNAVFOR-led Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia. A team of 10 have been training with German Navy Marines (Seebatallion) since January 30 and will spend the rest of this month preparing for the depl
Dynamic Manta 2017, NATO’s annual anti-submarine warfare exercise, is set to start on Monday next week, off the coast of Sicily, Italy. The two-week drill will gather ships and sailors from ten allied countries for ASW training in the central Mediterranean. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spa
Warships from NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 2 (SNMCMG2) joined the underway portion of the Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon that is taking place between March 5 and 13. The exercise as a whole is hosted by Romania this year and will include more than 1,500 sailors and 17 warships from s
Royal Navy frigate HMS Iron Duke set sail for the first time this year having spent the winter in her home port undergoing a sustained period of maintenance. The Type 23 frigate, which spent the first half of 2016 on NATO duties in the Baltic and waters of northern Europe, is now headed for operatio
U.S. Navy’s Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), together with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on March 7. While in theater, more than 4,000 sailors and marines of the ARG and MEU will train to share information, experiences, and work together.
The Royal Australian Navy’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit (UASU) showcased the navy’s newly acquired Schiebel Camcopter S-100 vertical take-off UAV at the Avalon airshow that concluded on March 5. The UASU is tasked with trialing and testing two different unmanned aircraft types – the ScanEagle (fi
The U.S. Navy recently demonstrated a new mine sweeping technique during a test in which a MH-60S helicopter deployed a MK-18 Mod 2 unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). This demonstration proved a possible lighter, less time intensive way to sweep for mines in theatre, compared to a MH-53E helicopter
Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean visited Beirut en route home, becoming the first Royal Navy vessel in five years to visit the Lebanese capital. The helicopter carrier arrived in Lebanon on March 4 having concluded a six-month deployment in the Middle East. Ocean’s captain, Capt Rob Pedre, was joined b
U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) arrived at White Beach, Okinawa, Japan, on March 4. During the port visit, the ship will embark Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), along with their vehicles and cargo, prior to departing for a routine patrol. “We are go
U.S. president Donald J. Trump visited the U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, future Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), in what was seen by many as a push for military procurement. The president landed on the flight deck on Thursday on Marine One accompanied by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. They were wel
A Lynx helicopter embarked on the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Portland carried out one final Sea Skua anti-ship missile firing. Royal Navy will no longer be using the Sea Skua missile as the Lynx helicopters carrying it are set to retire in March. This will leave the Royal Navy with a helicopte
