Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Serviola set sail from Ferrol to conduct a series of activities with African navies as part of the Defense Diplomacy Plan and a follow-on of the Africa Partnership Station (APS) initiative. These deployments are intended to enhance maritime security and coop
U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) launched the NATO Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile to engage a target drone during a fleet firing exercise. The missile was launched on September 18 off the coast of the U.S. territory of Guam during the biennial Valiant Shield exerc
U.S. Navy’s EA-18G “Green Growler” completed flight testing of a 100-percent advanced biofuel at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in early September. “From takeoff to landing, you couldn’t tell any difference,” said Lt. Cmdr. Bradley Fairfax, project officer and test pilot with Air Test a
USS Wichita, the U.S. Navy’s 13th littoral combat ship was launched during a September 17 ceremony at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette. Lockheed Martin, the company leading the industry team that builds the Freedom variant of LCS ships has shared a video of LCS 13 hitting the w
After concluding mission stops in six countries, this years’s Pacific Partnership arrived in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of responsibility en route to Hawaii aboard hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). Pacific Partnership members are on a brief stop as the mission nears conclusion. Mercy departed Naval B
Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth abandoned the scenario during a Canadian-hosted anti-submarine exercise in order to help a Canadian fisherman in the North Atlantic. The Plymouth-based ship was around 100 miles east of Nova Scotia when she picked up a mayday. The crew of the trawler Double Mischief r
NATO and ally nation ships have concluded this year’s edition of the German-sponsored large-scale exercise Northern Coasts. The two-week exercise started on September 5 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was attended by ships and aircraft from 14 countries including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Estoni
Following a request for information (RFI) for its Squadron 2020 project to construct four ice-going offshore patrol vessels, the Finnish Navy has now signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Rauma-based shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions. If the LOI is realized, the company will build f
Navy commanders from 14 countries were hosted by Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, for the inaugural Regional Commanders’ Conference to discuss maritime security and interoperability in the Asia-Pacific. The high level discussions between navies were attached to exercise Kakadu
German Navy frigate FGS Karlsruhe is scheduled to return from the Mediterranean Sea and her last operational deployment on September 16. The ship was first part of operation Sophia and later joined the NATO-led Again Sea patrol mission aimed at curbing people smuggling. Karlsruhe deployed half a yea
A German Navy sailor has captured her walk through the German Navy U34 submarine on video which was then shared on social media. The walkaround offers an insight into what life on a Type 212 A air-independent propulsion submarine might look like. U 34 is currently home to 35 sailors who are engaged
The 13th iteration of the Australian-hosted multinational maritime exercise Kakadu 2016 began with an opening ceremony on September 12 in Darwin, Australia. Exercise Kakadu is the Royal Australian Navy’s premier exercise and provides an opportunity for regional nations to participate in multinationa
Units from Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) destroyed eight historic ordnance mines during the Norwegian MINEX exercise which was completed August 25, in Trondheim, Norway. The exercise involved minesweeping ships from five NATO allies sweeping sections of Norway’s coastal wate
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown, currently part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2, recently conducted a cooperative boarding on the Togolese flag merchant vessel (MV) Byblos as part of NATO’s counter-terrorism Operation Active Endeavour. HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) conducted this c
