Defense Strategies
UK’s Joint Warrior kicks off
Over 30 ships and submarines are taking part in the UK-hosted bi-annual exercise Joint Warrior over the course of next two weeks. Around 13,000 soldiers and sailors from 13 nations will hone their warfighting capabilities from March 26 to April 6. Among the participants are ships from Standing NATO
Royal Norwegian Navy to get Hugin AUVs for mine countermeasure tasks
The Royal Norwegian Navy is getting a mine countermeasure capability boost with a new set of autonomous underwater vehicles. Contracted by the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), Kongsberg Maritime is to deliver four complete Hugin AUV systems for detection, classification and identification o
Royal Navy flagship returns from six-month deployment
Royal Navy’s current flagship, HMS Ocean, wrapped up an eventful six-month deployment to the Middle East and returned to HMNB Devonport, Plymouth on March 24. During her deployment, HMS Ocean became the first UK warship to lead the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force (CTF) 50 in the Arabi
NATO ASW drill Dynamic Manta concludes off Italy
The Italian-hosted and NATO-led anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Manta concluded on Friday off the coast of Sicily. Submarines under operational control of NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO) joined surface ships under Standing NATO Maritime Group Two Task Unit Two (SNMG2 TU02) and maritime p
Malaysian Navy LCS torpedo launcher systems pass factory acceptance trials
Torpedo launcher systems for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s six Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) have passed factory acceptance trials, British defense company Sea announced. The company said it worked with Kuala Lumpur-based project engineering managers Budi Axis Sdn Bhd to achieve acceptance of the first we
USS Carter Hall arrives in Romania for joint amphibious exercise
U.S. Navy’s amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and embarked marines transited the Bosphorus Strait on March 17 to visit Romania and take part in the bilateral amphibious operations exercise Spring Storm 2017. The exercise is taking place in the Black Sea between March 18 and 21. S
Mount Etna eruption as seen through Royal Navy helicopter’s infrareds
When Europe’s tallest active volcano erupted on Thursday, March 16, a pair of Royal Navy helicopters, searching for submarines during a NATO exercise, managed to capture the moment on their infrared cameras. After their successful mission to find and hypothetically destroy a Spanish submarine, which
German Navy combat support ship damages stern entering port
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Frankfurt am Main damaged its stern while entering the Wilhelmshaven navy base late in the evening on March 16, the German Navy informed. While the the extent of damages is yet to be evaluated, the navy said it has called off participation in the NATO-led drill
US destroyer begins third forward deployed patrol from Spain
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) set sail from Naval Station Rota, Spain, on March 15, to begin it’s third forward deployed patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. “It’s time for our third patrol and we’ve worked hard preparing for it,” said Cmdr.
German frigates to trade places at the helm of NATO group
German Navy’s anti-submarine warfare Type F123 frigate FGS Brandenburg is set to deploy to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) to relieve another German frigate, the Type F124 FGS Sachsen, as flagship of the task force. The lead ship in the class of four German Navy F123 frigates, FGS Brandenbu
NATO kicks off Dynamic Manta
The Italian Navy-hosted and NATO-led anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Manta 2017 began yesterday off the Sicilian coast with ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 allied nations coming together to train. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United States,
NATO’s prime anti-submarine warfare drill starts next week in the Med
Dynamic Manta 2017, NATO’s annual anti-submarine warfare exercise, is set to start on Monday next week, off the coast of Sicily, Italy. The two-week drill will gather ships and sailors from ten allied countries for ASW training in the central Mediterranean. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spa
Warships start underway portion of Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon
Warships from NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 2 (SNMCMG2) joined the underway portion of the Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon that is taking place between March 5 and 13. The exercise as a whole is hosted by Romania this year and will include more than 1,500 sailors and 17 warships from s
HMS Iron Duke returns to training after maintenance
Royal Navy frigate HMS Iron Duke set sail for the first time this year having spent the winter in her home port undergoing a sustained period of maintenance. The Type 23 frigate, which spent the first half of 2016 on NATO duties in the Baltic and waters of northern Europe, is now headed for operatio