HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy helicopter carrier and current flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), stopped in the Mediterranean on November 11 to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in previous conflicts with an act of Remembrance. The entire ship’s company, Bravo Company of 40 Comma
Helping NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasure Group 1 (SNMCMG1) clear historic ordnance off the coast of France was the final task of the crew of Belgian minehunter BNS Primula before they headed home. From October 20 to November 7, Belgians worked with their colleagues in French waters off the Norman
Defense ministers attending NATO’s North Atlantic Council meeting on Wednesday agreed on the creation of a new command for the Atlantic which would ensure better cooperation between Europe and the US and Canada. This command would coordinate the protection of sea lines of communication between Europ
Spanish Navy warship ESPS Rayo, currently part of the EU mission in Africa, recently became the first EU NAVFOR ship to visit the Republic of Mauritius as she pulled into Port Louis on November 4. During her time in the Mauritius capital, the offshore patrol vessel hosted Ambassador Marjaana Sall, h
Warships and other assets deployed to the EU NAVFOR operation Atalanta received a new commander during a ceremony held in Brussels, November 7. Major General Rob Magowan CBE handed over command to Major General Charlie Stickland OBE after 17 months in charge. Over the last 17 months Major General Ma
German Navy’s Bremen-class frigate FGS Lübeck is on her way home having concluded 700 patrol hours as part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). The ship and her 200 crew are scheduled to enter their homeport of Wilhelmshaven on November 10, after two months of operations in the Aegean Sea. T
Spanish Navy frigates recently took part in anti-air missile firing drills in the Gulf of Cadiz. Santa Maria-class frigates ‘Navarra’, Canarias’ and ‘Santa María’ were joined by F-100 frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ and a number of other ships as they fired Standard SM-1 missiles. ESPS Almirante
Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet put the second Project 23370M search and rescue boat into operation, Russia’s defense ministry announced November 6. Named SMK-2177, the boat is the second of three next-generation multifunctional search-and-rescue cutters the Russian Navy intends to put into service by
An anti-submarine warfare exercise hosted by the Turkish Navy kicked off at Aksaz Naval Base on November 4. Warships from five countries will be training together in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Turkey through November 20. The exercise is called Dogu Akdeniz-17 and is organized by Turk
US Navy personnel from the Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) Detachment Rota, Spain, completed a 60-day surface incremental availability (SIA) on destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), Oct. 27. “This was the second SIA conducted in Rota, Spain and continues the record of on-time availabil
The latest round of Mediterranean Sea patrols carried out by NATO ships as part of operation Sea Guardian concluded on October 30 and saw the participation of four ships and one submarine. Ships from the navies of Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Turkey, in cooperation with maritime patrol aircraft from
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean has assumed her role as NATO SNMG2 flagship again after returning from the Caribbean where she contributed to the UK humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operation Ruman. Ocean relieved HMS Diamond – Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer which jumped in for th
A fire broke out aboard the Polish Navy’s only Kilo-class submarine ORP Orzeł recently, as it was docked at the Polish Navy shipyard in Gdynia for repairs. The incident was initially not reported by the defense ministry and was confirmed by Armed Forces General Command spokesman Czesław Cichy to new
Russian president Vladimir Putin took part in a nuclear forces drill, personally launching four ballistic missiles, the Russian defense ministry said October 27. The drill itself took place on Thursday and involved all three legs of the Russian nuclear triad. Units of Strategic Missile Forces contro
