Surface Vessels
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier now has a ping pong club
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is so big that the crew have had enough space aboard to set up a ping pong club, according to a recent Royal Navy story. The Royal Navy says that the ride of the 65,000-ton ship is smooth enough to provide a stable platform for the […]
Fincantieri lays keel for Italian Navy’s new Landing Helicopter Dock ‘Trieste’
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a keel laying ceremony for the Italian Navy’s new landing helicopter dock (LHD) at its Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on February 20. Construction on the ship started with a steel cutting ceremony on July 12, 2017, and the delivery is expected for 2022. The shi
Russian task group enters Atlantic en route to Northern Fleet homeport
A Russian Navy task group returning from their deployment as part of the country’s permanent Mediterranean task force entered the Atlantic Ocean en route to their Northern Fleet homeport. Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovskiy, Vishnya-class intelligence ship Feodor Golovin and Altay-class
HMS Sutherland to join major Australian Navy fleet exercise Ocean Explorer
A fleet of Royal Australian Navy ships departed Fleet Base East in Garden Island, Sydney, on Tuesday to start exercise Ocean Explorer. Ocean Explorer will see two submarines, ten ships and embarked aircraft take part in war games off the east coast of Australia. They will be joined briefly by Royal
Brazil’s purchase of HMS Ocean confirmed
The sale of Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean to the Brazilian Navy has been officially confirmed, UK media reported. The price was set at £84 million, according to the reports. The sale is to take place next month while the ship itself will sail to Brazil in the summer. Babcock and BAE System
US Navy sends two destroyers to the Black Sea
The US Navy now has two guided-missile destroyers in the Black Sea after USS Carney transited the Bosphorus on February 18. Carney is joining sister ship USS Ross which entered the Black Sea on February 17. Recognizing the fact that having two destroyers in the Black Sea is not something the navy do
Spanish minehunter ESPS Segura joins NATO SNMCMG2 in the Med
The lead ship of the Spanish Navy’s Segura-class minehunters got underway from her Cartagena homeport on February 15 to join NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). Segura is scheduled to spend the next three months deployed to the group as it did during a similar deployment last yea
Video: Fire breaks out on Russian destroyer ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ in Vladivostok
A fire broke out aboard the Russian Navy Udaloy-class destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov in Vladivostok during welding works on February 15. According to Russian media, the fire broke out in one of the engine rooms of the destroyer. No one was injured in the incident and the fire did not cause damage to
Four-nation drill Khunjar Haad concludes in Gulf of Oman
Ships and personnel from the navies of Oman, UK, France and US concluded the international exercise Khunjar Haad in the Gulf of Oman on February 8. Overall 11 vessels, including US Coast Guard ships, took part in the exercise. Khunjar Haad featured a variety of evolutions consisting of air-defense,
Asia Pacific deployment: Royal Navy frigate honors sunken HMAS Sydney
HMS Sutherland, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate on a deployment to Asia Pacific, stopped in the Eastern Indian Ocean to honor the sunken Royal Australian Navy cruiser HMAS Sydney. The wreck of the wartime cruiser HMAS Sydney lies off the west coast of Australia and 500 miles northwest of Perth. Sydney
NATO SNMG1 ships join Norway’s TG 18-1 exercise
The Royal Norwegian Navy has hosted over ten NATO and ally vessels in Bergen this weekend ahead of the start of two important international exercises. Ships from Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, Canada, and Spain will spend the next two weeks off the Norwegian coast conducting mane
USS Ross completes war-at-sea drill with Albanian Navy
US Navy destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) completed a war-at-sea exercise (WASEX) with Albanian Naval Brigade patrol vessel ALS Iliria (P 131) in the Adriatic Sea on February 7. The two vessels completed the drill before the US destroyer pulled into the Albanian city of Vlore for a regularly-scheduled por
NATO groups in Black Sea make port calls in Bulgaria
NATO ships from two maritime groups currently operating in the Black Sea entered two Bulgarian port cities for weekend port calls. On February 10, three warships from Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Varna, Bulgaria, as part of their routine Black Sea patrol. Led by Royal Navy Com
Spanish frigate to lead Mediterranean operation Sea Guardian
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Navarra will be leading a three-ship NATO group during the Mediterranean Sea operation Sea Guardian, the Spanish defense ministry announced. In addition to the Spanish Santa Maria-class frigate, the group will include Belgian frigate BNS Louise Marie and an Italian Navy shi