Defense Strategies
VIDEO: NATO’s Baltops 2016 as seen from British flagship HMS Ocean
The Royal Navy has shared a video of its flagship HMS Ocean taking part in NATO’s annual Baltops exercise. The helicopter carrier participated in the exercise which took place between June 3 and June 20 in the Baltic Sea. As flagship of the exercise, Ocean found herself home to Italians, French, Ger
Photo of the day: French Navy aviso transits Corinth Canal
French Navy’s D’Estienne d’Orves-class aviso, FS Enseigne de Vaisseau Jacoubet was returning home from the port of Piraeus when the ship’s Captain decided to transit the Corinth Canal in order to avoid a 400 kilometer detour around the Peloponnese. The ship had spent a month searching for EgyptAir p
Norwegian defense white paper outlines operational restructuring
Norway plans to increase the number of crews for the nation’s Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates from three to five in order to be able to operate four vessels continuously. Additionally the defense white paper, issued June 17, announces that the country would slash the number of mine countermeasure ves
NATO kicks off anti-submarine warfare exercise in Norway
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg kicked off the annual ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ anti-submarine warfare exercise in a visit to Trondheim, Norway today. The ASW drill, focused on detecting and defending against submarines, runs for ten days. Three thousand sailors and aircrew from eight Allies (Canada, Franc
Gallery: First international green fuel RAS complete
Photos: Italian Navy Italian and U.S. Navy have completed the first international replenishment at sea (RAS) to involve the transfer of alternative fuel, in this case a synthetic biodiesel (Green Diesel) produced in Italy. On June 16, Italian Navy auxiliary ship Etna replenished the Arleigh Burke-cl
Photo of the day: An Admiral hovers over the water
Admirals hanging on a rope meters above water surface is not something sailors would consider a routine procedure. Italian Navy Admiral Andrea Gueglio, however, really wanted to try transferring from one ship to another via a material transport line. Having witnessed a resupply at sea conducted betw
Germany deploys tender, minehunter to Mediterranean Sea
German Navy tender ‘Werra’ and the minehunter ‘Datteln’ will depart their homebase in Kiel on June 20 to join the EU NAVFOR mission of saving lives and apprehending smugglers in the Mediterranean Sea. Werra, commanded by Corvette Captain Mirko Preuß and Datteln, commanded by Corvette Captain Björn F
First MH-60R helicopter lands aboard Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt
Danish Department of Defence celebrated the delivery of its first three MH-60R Seahawk helicopters by having one of the aircraft land aboard the Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt in Copenhagen Harbor, Denmark, June 6. The helicopters were delivered by the U.S. Navy under a $686 million foreign military
US Navy sends USNS Grapple to support NATO in Aegean Sea
The U.S. will back NATO’s efforts in the Aegean Sea by deploying rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple to the area, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during the NATO defense ministers conference this week. NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 has been trying to curb people smugglers’ activities in t
Spanish minehunter joins EUROMARFOR for drills
After taking part in the advanced multinational mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise Spanish Minex-16, minehunter Duero (M-35) integrated into the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR) to take part in the Italian Minex-16 and the maritime security exercise MCE-16 in Tunisian waters. The Spanish M-35,
Italian, US Navy set to conduct a RAS of a different kind
After two years of cooperation on developing alternative fuels to reduce emissions and pollution, the Italian and U.S. Navy are set to conduct the first replenishment at sea (RAS) that will transfer fuel made from renewable sources. On June 16, Italian Navy auxiliary ship Etna will replenish ships f
Spanish F-100 frigate Cristobal Colon sails to US for combat system tests
Following a readiness period in her homeport in Ferrol, Spain, the AEGIS frigate Cristóbal Colón (F-105) is set to sail towards Norfolk, Virginia for a month and a half deployment along with a U.S. Navy destroyer for combat system ship qualification trials (CSSQT). These trials will take place in th
BALTOPS 2016 moves into final, tactical exercise phase
The 2016 edition of the multinational exercise BALTOPS has entered the third and final phase of serialized training operations, June 10. The final, tactical exercise portion of the exercise, continues in-port and at-sea training events which are a culmination of combat enhancement training, and forc
US Navy fleet commander warns against technologically advancing Russian subs
The era of U.S. Navy subsea complacency is over as new russian stealth submarines represent an increasing challenge for the U.S. ASW capabilities, a Navy official said. Writing in the June issue of the US Naval Institute’s magazine, Proceedings, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James Foggo III, Commander of t