The Turkish Navy-hosted exercise Mavi Balina concluded on October 9, after a week of evolutions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mavi Balina consisted of a port phase which started September 27 and transitioned to the at-sea portion on September 30. The biannual anti-submarine warfare exercise also
The eight Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy will be homeported in Devonport, UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. The 6,900-tonne frigates will be anti-submarine warships and will provide protection for the UK nuclear deterrent and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft car
Ships and personnel from the US, Spain, Germany and France concluded the four-day Smart Defense Exercise (SMARTEX) on September 28. SMARTEX is a NATO initiative designed to enhance interoperability and training between participating countries. During the exercise, Spanish sailors embarked aboard the
US defense contractor L3 Technologies announced it has acquired unmanned surface vessel (USV) and autonomous vessel control systems company ASV Global. With this acquisition, L3 is expanding its unmanned vessel portfolio with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions, unmanned off-board sensors and int
The Royal Navy’s Sea King Mk7 helicopters officially retired from active service as two Sea Kings from 849 Naval Air Squadron performed a final, three-hour flypast on September 19. Helicopters ZE420 and ZA126 flew as far east as Teignmouth, over the wilds of Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, the northern Co
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond is on her way home after spending two months on operations in the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. The destroyer has been activated throughout the traditionally busy summer season, as she monitored Russian naval activity twice, visited four ports and helped tra
Naval Group has started deconstruction operations on French Navy’s five first-generation ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) in Cherbourg, France. The project was awarded by French defense procurement agency to Naval Group in 2016. Subsequently, Naval Group has entrusted Veolia with the contract rel
Just days after media reports on Russia’s naval buildup in the Mediterranean Sea first emerged, the country’s defense ministry on Thursday announced a large-scale drill in the Mediterranean. Prior to the defense ministry’s announcement, the Russian Navy was said to have a little over ten warships sa
Russia’s third Project 11356 frigate, the Admiral Makarov, transited the English Channel on August 20 as she sails for her new homeport in the Black Sea. The 4,000-ton Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate was escorted through the Channel by Portsmouth-based minehunter HMS Hurworth and a Wildcat HMA2 he
German Naval Yards and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) – two Kiel-based shipbuilders – are joining forces to compete against a Dutch proposal for the design and construction of the German Navy’s new MKS180 ships. TKMS signed an agreement with German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK) on August 3 under which
The Leander frigate design was offered for the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigates
Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth has welcomed back Type 23 frigate HMS Kent and Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender as they returned from refits and upgrades. Both have received command and control systems and weaponry upgrades over the last 18 months. HMS Defender was formally welcomed back into the
Denmark’s defense department has received the final two of overall nine MH-60R Seahawk helicopters delivered by Sikorsky Aircraft under a $686 million contract. The aircraft arrived at the Royal Danish Air Force base Karup on August 1 aboard an American C17 aircraft. MH-60R Seahawks will be flown by
The Russian Navy commissioned the lead ship of the Project 22350 frigates – the Admiral Gorshkov – in a ceremony in St. Petersburg on July 28. Attended by the Russian deputy chief of navy and other government and shipyard officials, the ceremony was held ahead of the Russian Navy Day celebrations on
