The US Navy-led and Lithuanian-hosted international exercise BALTOPS 2018 concluded on June 15 as participating ships arrived in Kiel, Germany. During the two-week BALTOPS exercise, over 100 drills in surface, subsurface, air defense, mine counter measures, maritime interdictions, and joint personne
Swedish shipbuilder Saab held a keel laying ceremony for the Swedish Navy’s new signals intelligence (SIGINT) ship. The ceremony took place Friday at the Naval Shipyard, in Gdynia, Poland, and was attended by representatives from Saab, the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and invited guests. Saab was aw
Spanish helicopter carrier ESPS Juan Carlos I and frigate ESPS Blaz de Lezo met up with EUNAVFOR units in the Red Sea recently as they transit towards the Persian Gulf. The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship and F-100 class air defense frigate are deployed as part of a Spanish Navy operation call
Sailors and Marines from the US and Royal Thai Navy started the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series in Pattaya, June 14. The multi-nation exercise series is organized in bilateral phases with regional nations and is designed to enhance capabilities in a broad spectrum o
The Royal Australian Navy has concluded the amphibious exercise Sea Explorer off the coast of Queensland. The exercise was held over the anniversary of the D-Day landings, which took place on the 6th June 1944 on the coast of France. Commander of the Amphibious Task Group, Captain Paul O’Grady, ackn
Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey relieved Rear Adm. John Fuller as commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, during a pierside change of command ceremony, June 12, aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Vice Adm. John D. Alexander, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, presided over the ceremony and thanked Fuller for his effo
German Navy corvette FGS Magdeburg and minehunter FGS Bad Bevensen will be returning to their respective homeports on Friday, after completing separate international deployments. Corvette Magdeburg is returning to her homeport in Warnemünde after 13 months of operations as part of the Maritime Task
Ships from the Combined Maritime Force and EU NAVFOR staged a counter-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden early June, honing interoperability and coordination to combat piracy. EU NAVFOR ships and aircraft from Italy, Spain and Germany operated alongside US, Korean and Japanese warships of CMF from
The flagship of NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 hosted a team of scientists and engineers as they tested three new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) during international exercises. Engineers from NATO Science and Technology Organisation’s (STO) Centre for Maritime Research and Experi
Royal Netherlands Navy multi-purpose amphibious ship HNLMS Karel Doorman returned to her homeport in Den Helder on June 8, concluding a two-month deployment to the NATO-led operation Sea Guardian. HNLMS Karel Doorman supported the operation with 300 people on board. In addition to the helicopter det
The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a contract to provide lead yard services for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer program. The contract was announced June 8 and is valued at $49.8 million for the first year with four option years, with a total contract value of $
The US Coast Guard announced it has awarded a contract to Insitu Inc. to deliver small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for the service’s national security cutters (NSCs). Installations of sUAS on NSCs are planned at a rate of about two per year, the coast guard noted adding that the total value of
Ships, submarines and aircraft from Japan, US and India have kicked off the 22nd edition of the now trilateral naval exercise Malabar. The exercise runs from June 7 through June 16. Malabar 2018 is the first time the exercise has been conducted off the coast of Guam, and the latest in a continuing s
German Navy corvette FGS Erfurt was prevented from taking part in the US Navy-led BALTOPS drill in the Baltic Sea after damaging her propeller in an earlier exercise. Erfurt had been part of the NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) since February this year and was close to the end of her deploymen