US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the US Air Force’s B-52H Stratofortress met up in the Arabian Sea for joint operations on June 1. During the exercises, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, attached to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG), and the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron,
The Italian Navy-hosted mine countermeasure exercise MINEX 2019 concluded off the coast of Sicily on May 30 after 10 days of evolutions. In addition to Italian and Spanish MCM assets, the exercise was joined by NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group Two (SNMCMG2). The exercise was aimed at prac
The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) has completed a series of tactical air defense and fighter control exercises with Portuguese Navy and Air Force counterparts. The exercises were conducted off the coast of Portugal on May 27, 2019. The drill began with Ross
The US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard joined Royal Thai Navy and Marine Corps to kick off the 25th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). The opening ceremony was held at Sattahip Naval Base on May 29. CARAT is the US Navy’s oldest and longest continually-running regional exer
The US Navy’s 2nd Fleet has declared the command has achieved initial operational capability (IOC), less than one year after being re-established by senior military leaders and just in time to lead one of the largest exercises in the Baltics. The IOC was declared on May 29, in an announcement by Vic
The lead ship of the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers marked the end of its 15-month docking planned incremental availability as it concluded at-sea training on May 28. USS Nimitz (CVN 68) crew finished the maintenance availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, and are now look
A nine-ship task group has gathered off the Danish coast to start operations as part of a UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. The group will work together in the first act of the two-month-long Operation Baltic Protector, designed to demonstrate the resolve of the UK, its allies and nations in the reg
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and some ships from Carrier Strike Group Nine (CSG-9) wrapped up their participation Alaska’s largest biannual joint-military training exercise on may 24. US Navy assets were joined by US Air Force, US Army, and Marine Corps service members fo
France is speeding up its helicopter program that will see one platform replace five legacy helicopters across the three branches of the country’s armed forces. In an announcement on May 27, French defense minister Florence Parly announced that the launch of the Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère I
The Italian Navy’s new landing helicopter dock (LHD) Trieste was launched in a ceremony at Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on May 25. The multirole and multipurpose amphibious vessel was launched in the presence of Italian president Sergio Mattarella and the Italian Navy chief Adm. Va
Ships from the navies of Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United States arrived in Guam, May 22, to take part in the first ever cooperative maritime training exercise called Pacific Vanguard. Pacific Vanguard brings together more than 3,000 sailors from four Indo-Pacific nations to sharpe
Article by: Peter Ong The US Navy’s Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF) – comprised of two Coastal Riverine Groups based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Imperial Beach, California – received delivery of its first new Mark VI patrol boat in 2014. Built by SafeBoats International in Bremerton, Washington,
The Lithuanian-led historical ordnance disposal operation Open Spirit 2019 concluded on May 16 after two weeks of maneuvers. Open Spirit is an international maritime operation led on a rotating basis by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Lithuanian Navy led the operation in 2019 in coordination with
The 9-nation live-fire integrated air and missile defense exercise Formidable Shield 2019 concluded at the UK defense ministry’s Hebrides Range off Scotland on May 19. The US-led drill helped allies hone interoperability in defending against missiles but it also saw Canadian and French Navy ships ac
