Training & Education
UK’s Joint Warrior kicks off
Over 30 ships and submarines are taking part in the UK-hosted bi-annual exercise Joint Warrior over the course of next two weeks. Around 13,000 soldiers and sailors from 13 nations will hone their warfighting capabilities from March 26 to April 6. Among the participants are ships from Standing NATO
Royal Navy flagship returns from six-month deployment
Royal Navy’s current flagship, HMS Ocean, wrapped up an eventful six-month deployment to the Middle East and returned to HMNB Devonport, Plymouth on March 24. During her deployment, HMS Ocean became the first UK warship to lead the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force (CTF) 50 in the Arabi
Royal Navy’s oldest warship prepares for marathon deployment
Despite being the oldest operational ship in the Royal Navy with 36 years of service, minehunter HMS Ledbury is preparing to embark on a three-year deployment to the Persian Gulf. To prove she and her 45-strong ship’s company are ready for the 7,300-mile sea journey from Portsmouth to Bahrain, home
NATO ASW drill Dynamic Manta concludes off Italy
The Italian-hosted and NATO-led anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Manta concluded on Friday off the coast of Sicily. Submarines under operational control of NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO) joined surface ships under Standing NATO Maritime Group Two Task Unit Two (SNMG2 TU02) and maritime p
Malaysian Navy LCS torpedo launcher systems pass factory acceptance trials
Torpedo launcher systems for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s six Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) have passed factory acceptance trials, British defense company Sea announced. The company said it worked with Kuala Lumpur-based project engineering managers Budi Axis Sdn Bhd to achieve acceptance of the first we
Obangame Express a platform for increasing maritime security in Gulf of Guinea
Navies and maritime security forces from Europe, South America, the United States, and Gulf of Guinea nations began training for the multinational maritime exercise, Obangame Express, March 20, 2017. Obangame will officially kick off on March 23, when nations begin executing real-world scenarios. Fo
USS Carter Hall arrives in Romania for joint amphibious exercise
U.S. Navy’s amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and embarked marines transited the Bosphorus Strait on March 17 to visit Romania and take part in the bilateral amphibious operations exercise Spring Storm 2017. The exercise is taking place in the Black Sea between March 18 and 21. S
Royal Navy’s HMS Westminster tests Sting Ray light-weight torpedo
Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster tested her Sting Ray light-weight torpedo during her weapons systems trials which she started after undergoing a two-year refit. A drogue parachute begins to deploy as a Sting Ray is propelled from its launcher and the magazine-launched torpedo system on the ‘capit
Mount Etna eruption as seen through Royal Navy helicopter’s infrareds
When Europe’s tallest active volcano erupted on Thursday, March 16, a pair of Royal Navy helicopters, searching for submarines during a NATO exercise, managed to capture the moment on their infrared cameras. After their successful mission to find and hypothetically destroy a Spanish submarine, which
German Navy combat support ship damages stern entering port
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Frankfurt am Main damaged its stern while entering the Wilhelmshaven navy base late in the evening on March 16, the German Navy informed. While the the extent of damages is yet to be evaluated, the navy said it has called off participation in the NATO-led drill
US destroyer begins third forward deployed patrol from Spain
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) set sail from Naval Station Rota, Spain, on March 15, to begin it’s third forward deployed patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. “It’s time for our third patrol and we’ve worked hard preparing for it,” said Cmdr.
German frigates to trade places at the helm of NATO group
German Navy’s anti-submarine warfare Type F123 frigate FGS Brandenburg is set to deploy to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) to relieve another German frigate, the Type F124 FGS Sachsen, as flagship of the task force. The lead ship in the class of four German Navy F123 frigates, FGS Brandenbu
Italian frigate arrives in Indonesia on Asia-Pacific deployment
Having wrapped up her participation in the Australian Navy exercise Ocean Explorer on March 5, Italian Navy FREMM frigate ITS Carabiniere headed for Jakarta, Indonesia as part of her deployment to the Asia-Pacific region. The Carlo Bergamini-class frigate arrived in Jakarta on March 9 and hosted the
German, South African Navy conclude drills in Baltic Sea
South African Navy frigate SAS Amatola and two German Navy ships returned to the port of Warnemünde on March 10, thereby concluding the bilateral exercise Good Hope. The 2017 edition of Good Hope started on February 24 and marked the first time the drill took place in the Baltic Sea. This was also t