A War Familiarization Exercise (WARFEX) had the U.S. Navy’s multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan host 250 Marine junior officers from The Basic School (TBS), February 5-7. The role of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship in hosting TBS and purpose of the exercise was to familiarize the
The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) is scheduled to return to its Naval Base San Diego homeport on February 11. The ship is on its way back from a 225-day independent deployment to the Arabian Gulf, Western Pacific, and Indian Oceans. While deployed to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fl
The Visakhapatnam International Fleet Review 2016, concluded February 9 with Indian and foreign Naval ships undertaking a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Bay of Bengal. As maritime traditions mandate, visiting foreign ships are generally escorted to the open seas on their way home upon their comple
Spanish and U.S. Navy mine countermeasures units participated in a bilateral exercise which took place in Cartagena, Spain. Participating units included a U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal team (EOD) and a Spanish Navy mine countermeasures (MCM) diving unit. The drills consisted of day and night
Saab Seaye, a manufacturer of electric powered Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) systems, hosted an international group of mine countermeasures specialists at its Fareham, Hampshire, UK facility. The group, that included the Deputy Director of The NATO Underwater Research Centre, saw a range of existi
Ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1) arrived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for a scheduled port visit February 5, during their deployment to the North and Baltic Seas to enhance maritime security and to contribute to international stability. SNMG1’s visit to Amsterdam precedes the
Russia’s re-emergence as a strategic challenge and how NATO is going to respond to it was the center-discussion at the Surface Warship Summit in Bucharest, Romania, held January 26-28. Speaking at the summit, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone CB CBE, Commander of Allied Maritime Command, said: “The combi
The South African Navy took delivery of a second South African-built Damen ATD Tug 2909 at the naval base in Simon’s Town, Cape Town, February 4, 2016. Escorted by SA Navy’s existing six tugs, Inyathi, as the tug was named, was welcomed into the naval fleet with a traditional sail past. Inyathi, mea
The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Commander’s Conference took place in Bahrain on February 2 2016. The bi-annual conference brings together senior military representatives from CMF members, to update them on CMF’s achievements, assess operational effectiveness and discuss, in an open forum, ways of
After spending six months at sea, German Navy’s Frankenthal-class mine hunter Weilheim returned to its homeport in Kiel, Germany on February 7. The German Navy 3rd Squadron ship was part of both the German contribution to NATO’s mine countermeasures group, the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Gro
U.S. Navy’s amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) arrived to Sattahip, Thailand February 5 to start the Thai-U.S. exercise Cobra Gold. Cobra Gold (CG) is a multinational joint exercise designed to advance regional security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and is scheduled to begin this we
The crew of the U.S. Navy’s next aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) held their first all-hands general quarters (GQ) damage control drill February 4. General Quarters, Battle Stations, or Action Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the all hands aboard a s
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, together with the Italian frigate ITS Libeccio and the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, headed for the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish frigate TCG Barbaros joined them in Aksaz, Turkey. The group conducted a range of drills before and after their port cal
The Letter of Intent, signed February 4 between the Netherlands and Germany, breaks the ground for the development of the Joint Support Ship initiative and the amphibious operation capability. Germany is thereby acquiring new capabilities while the Dutch Navy is enabled to equip its ships more effic
