Finland’s defense minister on December 19 authorized the country’s defense forces’ logistics command to sign contracts for the upgrade of Hamina-class fast attack missile craft (FAC). The authorization follows the signing of a letter of intent and a pre-design activities contract with Patria Aviatio
The Italian Navy has taken over command of the operation Sophia task force from the Spanish Navy in a ceremony at Italian naval base Taranto. On the occasion, Italian Navy Rear Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto replaced Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Javier Moreno as the new deputy force commander. Durin
The Russian state-owned shipyard More has laid the keel for the overall seventh Russian Navy Karakurt-class Project 22800 corvette in a ceremony on December 19 in Feodosia, Crimea. The ship will be named Vikhr and is the third in the class to be built at the More shipyard. The other two ships in the
The recently-commissioned Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is taking on water due to a propeller shaft leak, the Royal Navy has confirmed. A Royal Navy spokesman said the issue with a shaft seal has been identified during the carrier’s sea trials earlier this year. The Royal Navy said
The fourteenth and final F-35B Lightning II to be delivered to UK this year rolled off the production line and flew into Beaufort, South Carolina, to join the Lightning Fleet which will be operated jointly by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The F-35 Lightning jets will be able to operate on land
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Fasan has returned home from a five-deployment to the EUNAVFOR counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Fasan and her 133 crew departed the mission earlier this month and entered their homeport in La Spezia on December 18. During her time off the coast of Somalia, the
Dutch steel-construction manufacturer Ravestein has delivered a new caisson to the UK Royal Navy for installation at Portsmouth Naval Base. With the new caisson in place, the naval base has reopened the former “14” dry dock for the first time since 2002. Reopening this dock takes the base capability
Taking a break from her Atlantic patrol duties, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay stopped in Bermuda on December 15 for a three day visit. The ship has been deployed to the region to provide humanitarian and disaster relief for the UK’s Caribbean overseas territories and Bermuda. This year RFA Mounts
US Navy sailors from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 12 joined their German Navy counterparts for two weeks of EOD training missions at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Nov. 27 through Dec. 11. EODMU 12 and their German counterparts conducted training evolutions
Russian president Vladimir Putin has submitted a draft bill to the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly which would see Russia develop a fully functional naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus. The port is already in use by Russian warships which have been making port calls there since 1977.
Members of the US Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51, 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (TF 51/5) on December 13 started a bilateral amphibious combat rehearsal in international waters off the coast of Djibouti, Africa. They will be teaming up with the French Task Group 473.1 which is composed of
The crew of US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) concluded the first port call of their forward-deployed patrol, departing Valletta, Malta, on December 12. USS Carney also became the first US Navy ship to moor in Valletta since 2014. “We are thankful for the hos
German Navy minehunter FGS Sulzbach-Rosenberg returned to its homeport in Kiel on December 12, concluding its NATO deployment. The minehunter spent the past five months as part of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1. The group spent time training and clearing mines in areas ranging from F
A NATO exercise involving warships from Italy, Greece and Turkey and the international merchant shipping community is taking place in the international waters of the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea. This focused security patrol is being conducted in coordination with a Naval Cooperation and Gu
