French Navy frigate FS Floreal has seized over 7 tons of hashish from two dhows in the Indian Ocean on September 23 and 24. According to Combined Maritime Forces, the drugs are valued at $3.5m, based on street values in Yemen, which was the expected destination for the hashish. This is the most sign
The UK’s ability to provide the continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent will be put at risk if a number of issues are not solved, a new report finds. At times of major international uncertainties, the country’s defense department needs to bridge a £2.9 billion affordability gap, according to th
NATO’s operation Sea Guardian Special Operations Command Control Element (SOCCE) achieved full operational capability last week, NATO’s Maritime Command has announced. On September 20, under Maritime Command (MARCOM) guidance and SOCCE control, an opposed live boarding exercise commenced with the pa
Polish Navy sailors assigned to frigate ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski recently used facilities at the Royal Navy training establishment HMS Raleigh ahead of their operational sea training. The former Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate is in Plymouth for six weeks of training with Flag Officer Sea Tra
US defense contractor L3 Technologies announced it has acquired unmanned surface vessel (USV) and autonomous vessel control systems company ASV Global. With this acquisition, L3 is expanding its unmanned vessel portfolio with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions, unmanned off-board sensors and int
The biennial multinational naval exercise NAIAS 2018 came to a close on September 21, after a week of maneuvers in the Aegean Sea. Participating units trained in multi-threat warfare events, including anti-asymmetric warfare, maritime interdiction and counter-terrorist events. The scenario of NAIAS
French shipbuilder Naval Group announced it will showcase its Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) 90 at ADEX 2018 exhibition taking place in Azerbaijan this week. According to local media reports, Azerbaijan’s defense officials have started talks with a number of French defense contractors regarding the ac
The US State Department has approved the sale of three SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV) MK 11 Shallow Water Combat Submersibles (SWCS) to the United Kingdom. The contract is worth an estimated $90 million and includes spares, handling and test equipment, and program support. According to the statement,
A fire broke out aboard the German Navy frigate FGS Schleswig-Holstein while the ship was underway in the Baltic Sea on September 17. While the fire was quickly brought under control by the ship’s crew, ten sailors were injured after inhaling smoke. According to the German Navy, the fire broke out i
Italian Navy transport vessel Nave Caprera was used to smuggle cigarettes on the return trip from Libya where the ship was deployed in support of an EU migrant interdiction mission. The ship reportedly returned to the Italian Navy base Brindisi with over 700 kg of cigarettes on board. This was confi
The Royal Navy’s Sea King Mk7 helicopters officially retired from active service as two Sea Kings from 849 Naval Air Squadron performed a final, three-hour flypast on September 19. Helicopters ZE420 and ZA126 flew as far east as Teignmouth, over the wilds of Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, the northern Co
Poland’s Remontowa Shipbuilding held a steel-cutting ceremony for the second Kormoran II-class minehunter for the Polish Navy at its Gdansk site on September 18. The steel-cutting ceremony comes ten months after the lead ship in the class – ORP ‘Kormoran – entered service. The first of the additiona
US Navy aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman has resumed operations in the US 6th Fleet area of operations after returning to its Norfolk home in July for a month-long deployment pause. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) initially deployed to the European theater April 11, 2018, and returned
A facility for the manufacturing of LiftFan systems for F-35B jets has been ceremonially opened by UK defense minister Stuart Andrew at Rolls-Royce in Bristol today. Production at the site has been building up since 2009, with the official opening now marking the fact that the facility is heading to
