INS Magen, the first of four Israeli Navy Sa’ar 6 corvettes, has been officially named in Germany. The ceremony took place at the thyssenkrupp Marine Systems yard in Kiel on May 23. The ship was named by Eti Sharvit, wife of Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit, Chief of the Israeli Navy, in presence of high-le
The Belgium Naval & Robotics consortium, composed of Naval Group and ECA Group, officially received a contract for the construction of twelve mine-hunting vessels for the navies of the Netherlands and Belgium. As revealed, the 12 ships will be equipped with some 100 drones, clustered in ten mission
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is afloat again after completing its first docking and maintenance period at Babcock’s Rosyth site. After the planned six-week work package was successfully delivered, the aircraft carrier departed Rosyth through the specially designed roller-fender sy
The Lithuanian-led historical ordnance disposal operation Open Spirit 2019 concluded on May 16 after two weeks of maneuvers. Open Spirit is an international maritime operation led on a rotating basis by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Lithuanian Navy led the operation in 2019 in coordination with
The 9-nation live-fire integrated air and missile defense exercise Formidable Shield 2019 concluded at the UK defense ministry’s Hebrides Range off Scotland on May 19. The US-led drill helped allies hone interoperability in defending against missiles but it also saw Canadian and French Navy ships ac
Royal Navy amphibious transport dock HMS Albion has deployed to the Baltic Sea where it will lead a multinational task group as part of a UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). All three service branches of the UK armed forces will take part in the first JEF maritime deployment, which started as HM
The UK defense ministry has approved an engine order for the second batch of Royal Navy Type 26 frigates, securing the immediate future of the General Electric’s Rugby site. The contract is important because GE had previously announced the site’s closure with its work being moved to Nancy in France
Captain Nick Cooke-Priest, the commanding officer of Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has been relieved of his duties. The navy confirmed that he has been reassigned to a new role without providing a specific reason. UK media outlets, however, widely report that the reason for Cooke-P
The first of two Pakistan Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPV) was launched in Galata, Romania, the Pakistan Navy announced on May 17. The ship was launched after starting construction in a keel-laying ceremony in April 2018. While the navy refers to them as corvettes, the two vessels built by Dutch s
The undertaking would cost almost three times as much as it cost to buy the ship in 2000.
French Navy aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) met up with ships from the navies of the US, Australia and Japan for a series of maneuvers in the Bay of Bengal. The exercise involving US destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), Australian Navy frigate HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156) and submar
German Navy corvette FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein and her crew of 64 will depart naval base Warnemünde on May 17 to start an eight-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. The corvette will support the maritime task force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, currently led by the Brazilian
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Mendez Nunes broke off from the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group (CSG) as it headed for the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tension between the US and Iran. The Spanish frigate’s withdrawal from the carrier strike group was first reporte
The Spanish Navy-hosted mine countermeasures exercise ESP Minex 19 concluded in the Western Mediterranean Sea on May 10, after two weeks of evolutions. ESP Minex 19 is an advanced annual exercise for mine countermeasures units and surface, submarine, and air mining and force protection assets. Parti
