Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean took center stage during a multinational anti-submarine warfare exercise. The helicopter carrier and navy flagship took command of Exercise Deep Blue II in the Mediterranean this month. Ships and aircraft from the UK, US and France spent 10 days honing
Royal Marines joined their U.S. counterparts aboard the USS Whidbey Island assault ship as it entered European waters to begin a deployment with the USS Wasp battle group. The USS Whidbey Island is an assault ship – a slightly smaller version of Britain’s Albion and Bulwark which uses hovercraft rat
The U.S.-Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise Sea Breeze 2016 started in Odessa, Ukraine on July 18. First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Rear Adm. Andrii Tarasov welcomed the United States and the participating nations at the opening ceremony. “We are delighted to host our mari
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Charlottetown, joined NATO’s standing maritime group 2 (SNMG2) on July 18 and will work and train in the Black Sea with vessels from several allied and partner nations until August 2, 2016. While operating in the Black Sea, the Halifax-class frigate will participat
Royal Marines traveled 850 miles to reach the Netherlands from Devonport Naval Base in order to top off their 14-week training cycle. An idyllic nature reserve in the heart of the Netherlands was chosen for the final test of future landing craftsmen and landing craft officers. The wetlands of De Bie
Italian Navy’s most important counter pollution exercise, Caralis 2016, was held in Cagliari, Italy, on July 7 and 8. This year, the exercise took place off the Southern Sardinian coast, and – as in past editions – consisted in two main parts, one technical/theoretical and one practical-operational.
Two U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers recently took part in a bilateral Maritime Security Operation (MSO) exercise with a French Navy destroyer. USS Mason (DDG 87) and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) together with the French Marine Nationale’s Horizon-class air defence destroyer FS Forb
German Navy tender Elbe departed her homeport in Warnemünde, Germany on July 14 to meet up with Estonian and Lithuanian ships before they join NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 1 (SNMCMG1). The tender is to meet with the Estonian minehunter Sakala and the Lithuanian patrol boat Skalvis in Ki
The U.S. Navy has shared a time lapse video of ships getting underway from Pearl Harbor earlier this week for the sea phase of the international Rim of the Pacific exercise 2016. From submarines through destroyers to large aircraft carriers, Naval Station Pearl Harbor tug operators show how it’s don
With a flash of fire and a thunderous roar, HMS Daring lit her 10th birthday candle in spectacular style with the test firing of a Sea Viper missile. The Type 45 destroyer has become the first ship of her class to complete a second test firing of the Aster 30 missile, proving her world-beating air [
Amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) pulled into Augusta Bay, Sicily for a scheduled port visit July 11. The stop offers Whidbey Island the opportunity to resupply, and is the first foreign port visit for the ship’s Sailors and embarked Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary
United States president Barack Obama on July 10 paid a visit to Spain and U.S. Naval Station Rota on his return home from the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland. Obama spoke to more than 2,000 American and Spanish service members and their families during his visit. The president visited USS Ross (DDG 71
Britain has announced that it would send an offshore patrol vessel to the Aegean Sea where NATO vessels are already engaged in gathering intelligence and patrol the waters between Greece and Turkey with the aim of preventing migration and smuggling. During the NATO summit in Warsaw Defence Secretary
Polish frigate ORP General Tadeusz Kosciuszko joined Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) on July 7. The former U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, one of two in the Polish Navy, will spend the next few months under NATO flag providing support to NATO maritime activities. ORP General Tade
