US Navy and Coast Guard units joined Iraqi Navy and Kuwait Naval Force and Coast Guard vessels for a trilateral exercise (TRILAT) in the Persian Gulf. The exercise concluded on February 22 and was the third of its kind executed since March 2017. The exercise was led by Task Force (TF 55) and is part
Italian-based defense contractor Leonardo has unveiled its new OTO Marlin 40 naval turret at the 2018 edition of Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar. The new OTO Marlin 40 is a system designed for fast, lightweight vessels and suited for anti-missile defense
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Carlo Margottini, in service since February 2014, recently achieved another first en route to her Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea deployment. Having sailed from her homeport in La Spezia on February 20, ITS Carlo Margottini transited the Suez Canal for the the first
US sailors and marines have concluded two months of cooperation with their French counterparts aboard the French Navy amphibious assault ship BPC Tonnerre. Approximately 150 US personnel spent the last two months working together with the French task group composed of BPC Tonnerre and Horizon-class
Ships and personnel from the navies of Oman, UK, France and US concluded the international exercise Khunjar Haad in the Gulf of Oman on February 8. Overall 11 vessels, including US Coast Guard ships, took part in the exercise. Khunjar Haad featured a variety of evolutions consisting of air-defense,
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga carried out another successful drug interdiction operation on February 1, bringing the total value of drugs seized by the crew since November 2017 to over AU$1 billion. The latest operation took place in the Western Indian Ocean and resulted in the seizu
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan got underway from naval base Portsmouth on December 8 to start her deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and the Royal Navy’s operation Kipion tasking. HMS Duncan is the first Royal Navy destroyer to deploy in 2018. The remaining five destro
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has established a subsidiary in Qatar which will be “the focal point” of all the services and after sales activities on the naval vessels of the group in the country. The new company, Fincantieri Services Middle East in Doha, is licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has submitted a draft bill to the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly which would see Russia develop a fully functional naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus. The port is already in use by Russian warships which have been making port calls there since 1977.
The United Arab Emirates Navy has ordered two Gowind corvettes from French shipbuilder Naval Group, French president Emmanuel Macron announced during a press conference in Dubai. Macron’s confirmation comes days after media reports emerged indicating UAE Navy’s interest in the vessels which are turn
Command of the US 5th Fleet naval forces changed hands in a September 19 ceremony at Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Vice Adm. John C. Aquilino relieved Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan as commander of naval forces in the central command area of responsibility. Donegan has served as the NAVCENT/C5F/CMF (C
German Navy’s K130 corvette FGS Braunschweig is returning from a 13-month deployment to UNIFIL and is expected to enter her Warnemünde navy base on June 14. During her deployment, the corvette changed crews two times and sailed a total of 41,600 nautical miles. FGS Braunschweig was replaced by siste
In the second attack on commercial vessels in just two days, pirates attempted to hijack oil tanker MT NAVIG8 Providence in the Arabian Sea on June 1. The incident, confirmed by EU NAVFOR, took place in the Gulf of Oman as the MT NAVIG8 Providence was sailing 100 nautical miles east of Muscat. Accor
The U.S. Navy now has two aircraft carriers operating near the Korean Peninsula and they are joined by ships from the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF). Photos released by the U.S. Navy’ 7th Fleet show carrier strike groups centered around aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vin
