Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth intercepted a fishing dhow carrying £65m worth of cannabis and heroin in the Indian Ocean, the Royal Navy announced on Wednesday without specifying when the action took place. The navy further said sailors aboard the Type 23 frigate destroyed 455kg of cannabis and 266
Russian Navy vessels have launched four Kalibr cruise missiles at ISIS positions near Palmyra, Syria, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The navy’s newest frigate, Project 11356 Admiral Essen, launched two of the missiles. The frigate was commissioned earlier this month and is currently o
The government of Canada has extended the country’s contribution to international maritime security operations in the Middle East and East Africa under operation Artemis. Announced by defence minister Harjit S. Sajjan and parliamentary secretary Jean Rioux, operation Artemis authorizes the Canadian
More than 20 nations took part in the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2017 which was held from May 2 to 18, on Naval Support Activity Bahrain. In addition to personnel led by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the command post exercise also included representatives from the civilian shipping i
Saudi Arabia and Lockheed Martin have reached a $6 billion deal for the acquisition of four littoral combat ships, according to a Bloomberg report. The report said that the signed letter of agreement included a better-armed version of the Freedom-variant LCS Lockheed Martin’s industry team is buildi
A maritime version of the Heron 1 (Shoval) unmanned air vehicle systems will be replacing the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) manned Sea Scan maritime patrol aircraft, Heron-manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries has announced. According to the company, the IAF ordered additional Heron 1 UAV systems equ
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring returned to home waters on Friday after spending nine months securing the Red Sea shipping lanes. Daring left her homeport of HMNB Portsmouth early September and spent the bulk of the deployment operating east of Suez. One of the destroyer’s most important r
Ships from the U.S. Navy’s Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group are returning home from a seven-month deployment to the Pacific, Middle East, and the Horn of Africa. The group is scheduled to return to Naval Base San Diego on May 15. Comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8),
Pakistan is acquiring four Turkish Project MILGEM corvettes while Turkey is buying 52 Pakistani Super Mushshak training planes under agreements signed during the 2017 IDEF defence exhibition in Istanbul, on May 10. Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Limited (KSEW) from Pakistan, signed a letter of
German Navy’s Braunschweig-class corvette FGS Magdeburg is scheduled to leave her Warnemünde navy base homeport and deploy to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. FGS Magdeburg will take the place of sister ship FGS Braunschweig which spent 12 months deployed to the United Nations mission. The corvette an
The U.S. Navy’s guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) is set to depart Naval Base San Diego on Monday for an independent deployment to Western Pacific and Middle East. Joined by an embarked detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49, Lake Erie will conduct maritime security
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Carabiniere pulled into Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on May 5, on the return leg of her Indo-Asia-Pacific deployment. Carabiniere is set to depart Dammam on May 6, after hosting a press conference on its deck and engaging with local officials. The ship’s crew previously
Canada has concluded a five-month period of commanding the Bahrain-headquartered Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) and handed over duties to France. This was Canada’s third command of the multinational maritime security and counter-terrorism task force located in the greater Middle East region. The
The United States has launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles on a military base in Syria, in what it says is a retaliation for the regime of Bashar Assad using nerve agents to attack his own people, that had occurred a few days earlier. The attack has been ordered by the U.S. president, Donald Trump,
