Spanish sailors assigned to EUNAVFOR’s operation Atalanta captured and destroyed a pirate whaler in an operation off the Somali coast on October 28. The pirate vessel was detected following an attack on Hong Kong-flagged Bulk Carrier KSL Sydney. The attack against the KSL Sydney took place on Octobe
The Chinese People’s Liberation Navy and navies of ASEAN member states have completed the at-sea phase of the inaugural ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise. The exercise spanned five days from October 22 to 27 and concluded with a field training exercise in Zhanjiang, China. Co-organised by the Republic o
The US Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman and L3 Technologies contracts worth $35.1 million to demonstrate existing technologies for the low-band frequency jammer, the second increment of the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program. The NGJ system will augment, and ultimately replace the EA-18G Growler
Over 40 vessels from NATO and ally countries gathered in Turku, Finland, to kick off a second major exercise in the Baltic Sea on October 25. The exercise is called Northern Coasts and is organized by Germany and hosted by a different Baltic Sea nation each year. It will run concurrent with Trident
Two US Navy ships were forced to return to Reykjavik, Iceland, after amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) was damaged in heavy seas while en route to Norway and exercise Trident Juncture. The ship was damaged on October 22 and is currently in Iceland for further assessment. The nav
India’s state-owned company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has awarded Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) an additional, $777 million contract for the delivery on Naval Barak 8 surface to air missiles for the Indian Navy. In September this year, BEL announced it received $1.2 billion in contracts f
The French defense ministry will launch a study phase to look into the replacement of the French Navy’s sole aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, defense minister Florence Parly announced October 23 at the Euronaval conference. The minister said the study phase would span 18 months during which th
Italy’s Fincantieri and French Naval Group have outlined plans for a possible future joint venture at the Euronaval conference taking place in Paris, France. The latest agreement is the result of a year’s work during which the two sides looked at ways of creating “a more efficient and competitive” E
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) met up with Egyptian Navy’s Descubierta-class corvette ENS El Suez (F-946) for a passing exercise (PASSEX) on October 21. Cmdr. Ian Scaliatine, commanding officer of Mitscher, welcomed El Suez’s leadership aboard Mitscher f
The first joint exercise between China and ASEAN member countries kicked off in Zhanjiang, in China’s Guandong province, on Monday, October 22. The five-day exercise is co-organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and will be joined by participants from all n
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) entered the Arctic Circle on October 19, becoming the first US Navy aircraft carrier to do so in nearly 30 years. Accompanied by select ships from Carrier Strike Group Eight (CSG-8), the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) traveled north to conduct
A helicopter from the French Army 1st Combat helicopter regiment crashed aboard the amphibious assault ship BPC Dixmude during night-time flight operations on October 17. Four sailors were injured, one of them seriously, as the helicopter crashed during takeoff, the French defense ministry said. The
The navies of Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands have signed a contract with Thales for the delivery of new Mode 5 and Mode S identification friend or foe (IFF) systems for their Karel Doorman-class frigates. The upgrade to the latest NATO IFF standard will enable the vessels to perform military
The Turkey-hosted international mine warfare exercise Nusret 2018 got underway in the Gulf of Izmir on October 16. Turkish minehunters are joined by ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasure Group 2 for ten days of exercises. Nusret 2018 will also welcome autonomous underwater systems and ordna
