The Latvian Navy is hosting this year’s edition of the international annual mine clearance and ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit which is taking place between August 18 and 31. The exercise aims to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region, including seabed communic
The Russian Navy has released a video of the lead Yasen-class nuclear-powered attack submarine Severodvinsk test firing a Kalibr cruise missile in the Barents Sea. According to the navy, Severodvinsk launched the cruise missile from a submerged position in one of the training grounds of the Northern
Ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) completed four days of historical ordnance disposal (HOD) operations along with Estonian minehunter ENS Admiral Cowan in Estonian territorial waters on August 17. The ships searched Estonian coastal areas that had not been previousl
The Finnish Navy chief will be hosting the commander of Allied Maritime Command and ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in Helsinki next week. On August 24, Finnish Navy Vice Admiral Veijo Taipalus will welcome MARCOM commander Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone for an official visit to Finl
UK’s Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE) project is entering phase four after defense contractor Qinetiq signed a £4.5m contract to lead this phase of development. The project is being developed for the defense ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and focuses on
The German Navy’s F122, Bremen-class frigate FGS ‘Lübeck’ is joining NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean Sea. Setting sail on August 21, Lübeck will be replacing another German ship, F123 frigate FGS Brandenburg, which spent six months as the flagship of the international task group. Comm
The Libyan Coast Guard detained a Spanish migrant-rescue NGO vessel near Libyan waters, holding the vessel and crew captive for nearly two hours. Proactiva Open Arms said on Tuesday that their vessel Golf Azzurro, a former fishing trawler, was “kidnapped” by a Libyan Coast Guard ship in internationa
A short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B Lightning II aircraft took off from the ski jump loaded with Paveway IV and ASRAAM missiles for the first time, BAE Systems announced. Installed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the ski jump is similar to that which will be used on the Royal Navy’s
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F-105) returned home to Naval Base Ferrol, Spain, on August 10 after spending three month in Australia where the ship’s crew helped prepare Australian sailors to operate the Aegis combat system. Just the like the future HMAS Hobart, the first of three new a
Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet now has an additional Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine at disposal with the arrival of submarine ‘Krasnodar’ to the Sevastopol base on Crimea. Krasnodar arrived at her new homeport on August 9 after a tour in the Mediterranean Sea where she took part in operations
The joint US-UK exercise Saxon Warrior, held in waters off Scotland, concluded on August 10 after ten days of drills. Surface combatants from the UK, US and Norway joined the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush as the Royal Navy is preparing to revive its carrier strike capability. At one
The Spanish defense ministry has received the fourth upgraded Agusta Bell 212 (AB212) helicopter delivered by the joint venture made up of SENER and Babcock. The aircraft is the fourth of overall seven helicopters that are to be upgraded under a project that will extend their lifespan by another 15
Two aircraft carriers, one operational since 2009 and the other preparing for its commissioning ceremony, met off the coast of Scotland during the UK-hosted exercise Saxon Warrior. HMS Queen Elizabeth met up with the USS George HW Bush and her carrier strike group during a series of war games which
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown left her homeport in Halifax and headed for Europe where she will join navy ships from several countries for a six-month deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1. On her second deployment under the Canadian Navy’s operation Reassurance, HMCS Charl
