Assets from the navies of Japan, the UK and US are scheduled top take part in their second trilateral exercise later this week. The inaugural Asia Pacific exercise took place in December 2018. The drill will take place in the Western Pacific and is scheduled for kick off on March 14. Japan will be r
Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll rescued 27 sailors from the Italian Con/Ro ship Grande America which caught fire in the Bay of Biscay on March 11. The frigate was on her way home to Plymouth after nine months away in the Asia-Pacific region when she responded to a mayday during the night from the 28,0
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan departed her Portsmouth homeport on March 8 for a six-month operational deployment which will include high-profile cooperation with the French Navy. Duncan will spend the first part of the deployment in the Mediterranean Sea, providing air defense to the Fre
A Russian Navy task group is being escorted through the English Channel as they head towards the Mediterranean Sea. The task group, composed of frigate Admiral Gorshkov and three auxiliary ships, are escorted by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender and Dutch Navy offshore patrol vessel HNLMS Friesl
The US needs more surface vessels and anti-submarine warfare assets in Europe to counter evolving threats in the region.
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) transited the Bosphorous Strait on March 1, wrapping up ten days of Black Sea operations. While in the Black Sea, the ship conducted operations at sea with the Turkish Navy and completed a port visit to Odesa, Ukraine in
FS Bretagne, the French Navy’s fifth FREMM frigate, has officially entered service after completing its maiden deployment. The French Navy admits ships into active service only after they complete their first operational tasking. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configured FS Bretagne started constructi
The Royal Navy’s third Tide-class tanker RFA Tidesurge entered service in a ceremony on February 20. The 39,000-tonne fleet replenishment tanker is the latest of four new Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships. “Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tidesurge is the third of our four new fleet replenishment tankers,” said Com
Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Niels Juel got underway from Naval Base Korsør en route to the Mediterranean Sea port of Toulon where it will join French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle for almost two months of training and operations. Denmark’s defense ministry expressed its interest in sendin
US Navy fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) and Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) met up in the South China Sea on February 18 for a series of maritime security and logistics training. The drills involved Royal Marine commandos, Royal Navy sailors and Guadalupe crew members. Dur
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) entered the Black Sea on February 19. Donald Cook entered the Black Sea after last visiting the region in January 2019, when it visited Batumi, Georgia and con
NATO-led exercise Dynamic Guard concluded off the coast on February 15. Ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG 1), commanded by U.S. Rear Adm. Edward Cashman, were joined by other ally units in the region for ten days of evolutions. The exercise is executed concurrently with Norwegian led
French defense contractor MDBA has unveiled a new shipborne module for the launching of Mistral missiles called SPIMM (Self-Protection Integrated Mistral Module). The air-defense module is based on the SIMBAD-RC system and designed to equip ships of all types, particularly those without a combat sys
The Italian Navy recently used the new Leonardo-developed M-40 target drones in an exercise involving the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and Durand de la Penne-class destroyer ITS Francesco Mimbelli. The exercise saw the aircraft carrier and its complement of AV8B+ fighter aircraft training alongside t
