Operations
EU, NATO agencies discuss closer cooperation in the Med
The commanders of NATO’s operation Sea Guardian and EU-led operation Sophia met at sea on February 24 to discuss closer tactical level coordination and information sharing in the central Mediterranean Sea. The task group commander for NATO’s maritime security operation Sea Guardian (OSG) visited the
Photo: Italian FREMM frigate Carlo Margottini on maiden Suez Canal transit
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
France, US conclude Bois Belleau 100 amphibious cooperation
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
HMS Queen Elizabeth wraps up rotary wing trials
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth entered Portsmouth on February 27, wrapping up her first of class rotary wing trials in the Atlantic. A team of 56 aircrew, analysts and engineers from the Air Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC) at MOD Boscombe Down have been onboard the aircraft carrie
Royal Navy opens new survival training facility
Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton recently opened a new facility which will provide survival training in the event of a helicopter incident or accident over the water. The Royal Navy School of Maritime SERE (survive, evade, resist, escape) and underwater escape training unit (UETU) was opened
French Navy starts annual Jeanne D’Arc mission
Two French Navy ships, joined by UK marines and sailors and their Wildcat helicopters, got underway from Toulon naval base on February 26 to start a five-month deployment to Asia-Pacific. The Jeanne D’Arc mission is an annual deployment undertaken by French Navy ships over a five-month period. Last
Watch the Argentine Coast Guard open fire at a Chinese fishing vessel
The Argentine Coast Guard takes fisheries protection very seriously as can be seen in another video captured by the agency during an incident last week. The video shows an Argentine Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval Argentina) patrol vessel firing at a Chinese fishing vessel caught fishing illegally in
First River-class OPV HMS Forth arrives home
The Royal Navy’s first Batch-2 River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth arrived in her new homeport at Portsmouth Naval Base on February 26. She is the first of five vessels in the class, designed for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, fishery protection, border patrol, counter terrorism and mariti
Multinational carrier strike group welcomes US Navy secretary for underway visit
A three-nation carrier strike group assembled around aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) welcomed the US Navy secretary for a visit during final deployment preparations. Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), Richard V. Spencer, landed aboard the USS Harry S. Truman Feb. 25, during the group’s co
USS Virginia wraps up six-month deployment to Europe
The lead ship of the US Navy’s Virginia-class fast attack submarines returned to her New London homeport in Connecticut following a six-month deployment to Europe. USS Virginia (SSN 774) was welcomed to the base on February 22 . During the deployment, Virginia steamed approximately 27,500 nautical m
US destroyers continue Black Sea patrol after Bulgaria, Romania visits
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Ross (DDG 71) are underway in the Black Sea again after completing port calls in Varna, Bulgaria, and Constanta, Romania, respectively. The two destroyers entered the Black Sea transiting the Bosphorus two days apart on February 17
NATO mine counter measure group visits Bar, Montenegro
Ships deployed to NATO’s Mine Counter Measures Group Two (SNMCMG2) arrived in Bar, Montenegro, for a port call on February 23. Led by Royal Navy Commander Justin Hains, the group arrived in Montenegro after sailing from Marmaris, Turkey last week. The task group consists of the flagship HMS Enterpri
Russian “spy ship task group” reaches North Sea
After entering the Atlantic Ocean on their return home from Mediterranean tasking on February 19, a Russian task group composed of three ships has now passed the English Channel. The Royal Navy announced on February 22 that it deployed patrol ship HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter from RNAS Yeovil
General Dynamics delivers expeditionary sea base Hershel “Woody” Williams to US Navy
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command received its fourth expeditionary sea base, future USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams, from General Dynamics NASSCO on February 22. The delivery took place after the vessel completed sea trials which started January 17, 2018. Construction of the USNS Hershel “Woody”