Training & Education
European Maritime Force shapes up for Portuguese drill Swordfish 2018
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
USS Farragut forced into maintenance in Norway
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 minehunter HMS Brocklesby starts two-year Gulf deployment
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
Royal Navy frigate deploys to Asia with new Sea Ceptor missile system
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
Bulgarian Navy stages large scale drill in preparation for Sea Breeze 2018
The Bulgarian Navy is staging a fleet wide drill with the aim of preparing units for the international Black Sea exercise Sea Breeze. Dubbed Black Sea – 2018, the local exercise is taking place from June 18 to 22 and will see the participation of 25 Bulgarian naval and auxiliary ships. The exercise
German tender ‘Rhein’ to become NATO SNMCMG2 flagship
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
Lithuanian-hosted exercise BALTOPS 2018 concludes
The US Navy-led and Lithuanian-hosted international exercise BALTOPS 2018 concluded on June 15 as participating ships arrived in Kiel, Germany. During the two-week BALTOPS exercise, over 100 drills in surface, subsurface, air defense, mine counter measures, maritime interdictions, and joint personne
Russian Northern Fleet starts “largest drill in 10 years”
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 LHD, frigate meet EUNAVFOR units en route to Persian Gulf
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
Video: Turkish submarine sinks retired tanker in torpedo exercise
The Turkish Navy has shared a video of its Type 209/1200 submarine TCG Yildiray sinking a decommissioned navy tanker during a torpedo-firing exercise. The navy said the firing took place on June 11 without specifying the exercise location. In the video, the Ay-class submarine can be seen submerging
German corvette, minehunter wrap up UNIFIL, NATO deployments
German Navy corvette FGS Magdeburg and minehunter FGS Bad Bevensen will be returning to their respective homeports on Friday, after completing separate international deployments. Corvette Magdeburg is returning to her homeport in Warnemünde after 13 months of operations as part of the Maritime Task
NATO SNMCMG2 ships host AUV developmental tests
The flagship of NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 hosted a team of scientists and engineers as they tested three new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) during international exercises. Engineers from NATO Science and Technology Organisation’s (STO) Centre for Maritime Research and Experi
Harry S. Truman carrier strike group resumes OIR strikes from Eastern Mediterranean
US Navy ships from the carrier strike group centered around aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman returned to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on June 10 for flight operations in support of operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). USS Harry S. Truman’s carrier air wing returned to flying OIR sorties after supp
USS Harry S. Truman first aircraft carrier ever to join Batic Sea drill BALTOPS
Aircraft from the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing One (CVW) 1, embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), contributed to Baltic Sea maneuvers as part of the annual multinational exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018. CVW-1 operations over the Baltic involved overf