After arriving from France to US early April, French Rafale jets have now joined the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) for a combined Chesapeake 2018 exercise. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) and French Carrier Air Wing (Groupe Aerien Embarque) departed Norfolk May 7
Mine countermeasure ships and personnel from 15 navies gathered in Tallinn, Estonia, for the start of the international Baltic Sea ordnance disposal drill Open Spirit. The exercise kicks off Friday and is joined by ships from NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) among others. Open
Unite, the UK’s largest union representing defence and shipbuilding workers, backed today’s demand by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the three new Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels to be built in UK shipyards. Government plans to put the £1 billion contract for building the ships out to tender in inter
A multi-lateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise in the Norwegian Sea got underway May 9 as navy assets from five ally countries gathered in Bodo, Norway, for the pre-sail conference. The exercise is hosted by Norway and led by the US Navy. ASW forces from Canada, France, Norway, the United Kin
Turkish Navy minehunter TCG Anamur has discovered historical unexploded ordnance during mine countermeasures drills conducted as part of the Spanish-hosted multinational exercise MINEX 2018. According NATO Maritime Command, the ordnance was discovered by TCG Anamur on 8 May using the ship’s speciali
The UK and Norway have advanced their plans for international Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) cooperation in the North Atlantic. The nations’ defence ministers flew in an American P-8A Poseidon from RAF Lossiemouth on May 3. Defence Minister Guto Bebb hosted Secretary Tone Skogen, State Secretary in
German Navy corvette FGS Braunschweig is scheduled to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to represent the German contribution to operation UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon). The K130 corvette is set to depart its homeport in Warnemünde, Germany, on May 14, under the command of Frigate Ca
The Russian Navy is scheduled to commission its sixth Project 21631 corvette ‘Vyshny Volochyok’ by the end of this month, the Russian defense ministry announced on Tuesday. Vyshny Volochyok is part of the Buyan-M class of corvettes, an upgraded version of the three Project 21630 (Buyan) vessels whic
French defense technology company Thales announced it has started production works on the first Sea Fire radar for the French Navy’s FTI future medium-size frigates. The Sea Fire is fully solid-state multifunction radar with a four-panel phased array antenna. According to the company, it is designed
US Navy’s Spain-based Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) completed its sixth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations, returning to its forward-deployed location at Naval Station Rota on May 7. Ross departed Rota Jan. 8, 2018, and in the course of its four-month patr
French defense minister Florence Parly announced on May 4 that another Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine was ordered for the French Navy. According to a defense ministry statement, the decision to order the fifth boat in the class was made during a defense ministry meeting on May 2. The new g
The German Navy has ordered three Puma maritime unmanned aircraft vehicles from US-based unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer AeroVironment. As announced by ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH, a German system and software company which was chosen as the main contractor for the unmanned aircraft
The first German Navy vessel to deploy in 2018 is returning home after concluding a five-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the EU-led operation Sophia. FGS Sachsen, the lead ship of the German Navy’s F124 air defense frigates, is set to return to her homeport in Wilhelmshaven on M
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender returned to her homeport in Portsmouth concluding her first underway period after undergoing an 18-month refit. The ship put her systems and personnel to the test over the seven-day period following the major upkeep which saw two new gas turbines fitted alon
