Fighter jets aboard the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle have been conducting airstrikes against the Daesh positions in Syria since November 2015 while the carrier itself was positioned in the Persian Gulf. While the carrier is a powerful offensive ship it lacks armament to protect itsel
U.S. Navy Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures (EXMCM) Company 1 teamed up with British Second Mine Warfare Battle Staff (2MWBS) onboard RFA Cardigan Bay in the Arabian Gulf to complete the mine countermeasures squadron exercise (Squadex), January 23-25. Squadex is a mine countermeasures exercise desi
One German corvette and one Spanish frigate participated in a medical evacuation of a migrant previously saved in the Mediterranean Sea. On January 28, German frigate FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein carried out her first rescue operation on her deployment with Operation Sophia. The frigate embarked a tota
Leaders of navies from across the Pacific and Indian Ocean came to Hampshire, Great Britain for a series of talks on cooperation, security and trade in the region. The Pacific and Indian Oceans Shipping Working Group saw representatives attending from the navies of several nations including Australi
Operation Sophia, the EU-mission in the Mediterranean, has been making headlines with migrant-rescue operations. The main goal of the mission, however, is to disrupt the networks of migrant smugglers. The German Navy says the Op Sophia is succeeding in this undertaking. The EU-operation entered the
Spanish Navy’s Santa Maria-class frigate, ESPS Victoria, conducted a series of exercises with Japanese Takanami-class destroyer, JDS Suzunami, to strengthen counter-piracy cooperation between the two forces. Meeting within close distance of the internationally recommended transit corridor in the Gul
The German Navy corvette FGS Erfurt rendezvoused with the Spanish Navy helicopter Toro 07 in The Gulf of Aden to conduct a rather uncommon exercise. The helicopter is regularly embarked on the Spanish frigate ESPS Victoria which is also deployed to the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta at the Horn of Afr
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer, HMS Diamond, has been the host of deck landing training during her first sail of 2016. The Navy’s next generation multi-role helicopter ‘Wildcat’ deck landing training was conducted throughout the day and into the night for a 2 week period in January. The aim was to s
Spanish F100 class frigate ESPS Alvaro de Bazan (F101), the Royal Navy Type 23 Frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234) and the Spanish Fleet Replenishment Ship ESPS Cantabria (A15), vessels of the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1), arrived in London, UK for a scheduled port visit. Under the command of S
The Russian Navy informed January 26 that its anti submarine warfare ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov held air defence exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. Sailors aboard the Udaloy-class destroyer tested the Kinzhal surface to air missile complexes as well as the Russian-built AK-100, a naval cannon of uni
The youngest of the original batch of Royal Navy’s River class offshore patrol vessels, HMS Mersey, has made her first port of call on her first deployment to the North Atlantic and Caribbean. HMS Mersey left her home base of Portsmouth, UK at the beginning of the month to start her long transit to
NATO Maritime Command yesterday, January 24 shared pictures of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Groups One as it departed the German Naval Base Kiel. The Group was assembled in Kiel for the change of command ceremony where the German Navy Commander Martin Schwarz replaced his Royal Netherlands
Cutlass Express, one of four regional Express Series exercises facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet is scheduled to take place in the West Indian Ocean from January 30, to February 6. The exercise focuses on increasing interagency capabilities in deterring counter-piracy, counter i
The Spanish Navy will include Marine Corps Eastern Tercio and the Algameca Naval Station in its research on the use of graphene in ballistic protection systems. The Navy is conducting this research jointly with the Cartagena Polytechnic University (UPCT) in Spain. Composed of a multidisciplinary tea
