Warships from Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain gathered in the Portuguese port of Lisbon on June 18 for the activation of the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR). The non-standing force was activated after a meeting of the political-military working group of EUROMARFOR concluded in
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class USS Farragut (DDG 99) was underway as part of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group when a cooling fan failure forced the US Navy to carry out underway repairs on the destroyer in Norway. USS Farragut was scheduled to take part in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exer
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has recently completed her first ever operational refueling at sea. After a dry run earlier in the year, HMS Queen Elizabeth now successfully took on fuel from RFA Tidespring, another brand new ship purposely built to support the two new aircraft carri
German maritime technology firm Atlas Elektronik and Thales Deutschland have been contracted to deliver combat systems for the five new K130 corvettes that are to be built for the German Navy. In addition to combat systems, the contract will see the two companies set up and deliver a test and traini
Royal Navy’s Portsmouth based minehunter HMS Brocklesby left her homeport June 19 to start a 6,000-mile journey to Bahrain, to take over from her sister ship HMS Middleton. The Hunt-class minehunter will form part of a four-strong permanent minehunter presence in the Gulf, working alongside coalitio
German-based defense contractor Rheinmetall Defence has been awarded a follow-on contract to upgrade the MASS countermeasure systems it previously installed on Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigates. The existing Multi Ammunition Softkill System automated decoy system will be upgraded under a contract
French Navy frigate FS Nivôse has seized over 250 kilograms from a suspected vessel in her first month of operations as part of the Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150). The narcotics were seized in a June 8 operation in which the crew of Nivôse boarded and inspected a dhow off the coast of Somalia. The
Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll became the third Royal Navy ship to deploy to Asia as she got underway from her Devonport Naval base on June 18. The frigate will be spending the next nine-months in Asia, sailing as far as Japan as part of a national push to strengthen military and diplomatic ties in [&he
Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Shoreham departed HM Naval Base Clyde on June 18 for a deployment to the Persian Gulf. The Sandown-class minehunter’s 40 crew started a 6,000 mile journey to the Gulf region from the Argyll and Bute base to take over from sister-ship HMS Bangor who has spent the past three
Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding and Swedish defense contractor Saab announced they are joining forces to bid for the Brazilian Navy’s corvette acquisition project. Brazil issued a request for proposals for the construction of four new Tamandaré-class corvettes in December 2017. Un
German Navy tender FGS Rhein is departing its Kiel homeport on June 20 to head for the Mediterranean Sea where it will join NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). During its time in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the 100-meter long Elbe-class replenishment ship will serve as flags
Russian Navy’s Northern Sea fleet has kicked off a large-scale naval drill in the Barents Sea which will see over 30 warships take part in various maneuvers. This is the largest exercise the Northern Fleet has undertaken in the last 10 years, the navy said in a statement. Drills will include cruise-
Spanish helicopter carrier ESPS Juan Carlos I and frigate ESPS Blaz de Lezo met up with EUNAVFOR units in the Red Sea recently as they transit towards the Persian Gulf. The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship and F-100 class air defense frigate are deployed as part of a Spanish Navy operation call
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) returned to operations as part of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8 after departing Tromso, Norway, on June 13. Bulkeley sailors spent four days in Tromso strengthening the partnership between the Norway and the United States. “We talked about ho