NATO’s Maritime Command gathered 160 participants from 19 countries, including Partnership for Peace (PFP) countries Finland and Sweden, for the annual two-week long Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) tactical-level Mine Counter Measure (MCM) Command Post Exercise (CPX) which started March 7. The exer
Images: Belgian Navy French Navy frigate Primauguet (D 644) docked in Zeebrugge, Belgium for a routine port visit on March 10 and is set to stay until March 13. The frigate was on its way back from the international exercise Cold Response 2016, which took place in Norwegian waters and hosted 20 wars
French Navy frigate FS Aconit (F713) has sailed to the Republic of Cyprus for a joint exercise that is taking place March 11 off the coast of Cyprus. The search and rescue (SAR) Exercise, titled CYPFRA-01/16, will involve search and rescue (SAR) units and personnel from the Republic of Cyprus and Fr
The Royal Netherlands Navy’s Karel Doorman-class frigate HNLMS Van Amstel is joining NATO’s fight against people-smugglers in the Aegean Sea. The De Schelde Group-built frigate will integrate into NATO’s Standing Nato Mine Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2). The ship was already at sea and is now sailing tow
The Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Rob Kramer visited U.S. Navy’s dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry during exercise Cold Response 2016 on March 8. Cold Response is a biennial Norwegian exercise featuring maritime, land and air operations to underscore NATO’s ability to defend against any threat i
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Atalaya (P-74), under command of the Maritime Security and Surveillance Center, has conducted a series of cooperative security operations with the Mauritanian Navy last week, and is now collaborating with the Cape Verdean Coast Guard. While in Mauritania,
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, flagship of NATO’s SNMG 2 was the first ship to enter the area of activity for a first patrol around the Greek island of Lesbos last weekend. In the last days, NATO expanded the area of activity into the territorial waters of Turkey and Greece, in close co
Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Cerberus training facility located south of Melbourne, Australia is set to receive a new Kongsberg K-Sim Engine simulator model. The new model will run on the existing Kongsberg K-Sim Engine desktop simulator the Norwegian company delivered to HMAS Cerberus in 2013. The
Having sailed 23000 nautical miles safeguarding the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle in the Middle East, the German frigate FGS Augsburg has bid farewell to the international group and headed home. During the group’s deployment in the Persian Gulf, French aircraft conducted 23 reconnai
Royal Navy’s amphibious landing ship royal fleet auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay together with three border force cutters will join the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea that aims to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey to Europe, the UK Prime Minister said ahead of an EU sumit. RFA Mounts Bay, supported
Ships of the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 1 recently concluded fire and flood control training in the North of Germany. The exercise took place at the Einsatzausbildungszentrum Schadensabwehr (Combat Training Centre for Damage Control or EAZS) in Neustadt, about 30 miles southeast of Ki
USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), a U.S. Navy Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship homeported in Mayport, Florida, is participating in Exercise Cold Response 2016. Fort McHenry will be the only U.S. Navy vessel participating in this operation, providing support for U.S. Marines as well as Navy constructi
Images: EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta warships met with their Chinese counterparts in the Indian Ocean to conduct joint training on February 27. Main focus of the training were air operations with the ships’ embarked helicopters. The Chinese ships, tanker CNS Taihu and frigate CNS Daquing, also conduc
Royal Navy’s Sandown-class minehunter HMS Pembroke has been training off the west coast of Scotland for the past two weeks preparing to join NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 1. Crew 1 from the Royal Navy’s Faslane-based First Mine Counter Measures Squadron (MCM1) have been putting the shi
