As the world waits to see whether the Israel-Hamas war will balloon into a larger regional conflict, two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted exercises together in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea this week.
Sailors from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as two Italian frigates — Virginio Fasan and Carlo Margottini — and the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship Mount Whitney, engaged in “high-value unit defense, ballistic missile defense, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations and maritime security operations,” the Navy said Friday.
More than 11,000 U.S. personnel participated in the three-day exercise.
Watch: HMS Queen Elizabeth departs Portsmouth for North Sea.
HMS Queen Elizabeth has left Portsmouth Naval Base the same way she arrived – with her F-35 fighter jets lined up on the flight deck.
The Royal Navy’s flagship had returned to her home port last Sunday, having spent time deployed in northern European waters with her Nato and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies.
Unusually, the £3bn vessel returned with her embarked F-35Bs on her flight deck – and the state-of-the-art jets remained there as she set sail from Portsmouth on Friday afternoon.
Friends, families and members of the public gathered on the city’s walls to wave off the ship and her crew.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s official account said the ship was returning to the North Sea.
“Farewell, Portsmouth! After a brief logistics stop we’re back to sea to resume our NATO tasking with our allies and partners in the North Sea. We’ve achieved a lot so far, but there’s much more to come!” the post said.
A Royal Navy spokesperson earlier said the ship had returned to Portsmouth for a logistics stop and a short period of maintenance.
The carrier and its aircraft recently took part in a range of exercises and training off the Norwegian coast.
The Royal Navy said the activity came as the UK Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, ramped up its work alongside its JEF allies.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed in Norway’s fjords and also visited the Swedish city of Gothenburg where events were hosted on board to “forge deeper bonds between the nations’ armed forces”.
JEF is a high-readiness task group committed to regional security that can respond to crises either alongside or independent of Nato.
HMS Dauntless launched her Wildcat helicopter and a Royal Marines sniper team to close in on the suspect craft (Picture: Royal Navy)
A Royal Marines sniper team has brought a Caribbean drug-runners’ power boat to a “juddering halt” after shooting out its engines.
US Coast Guard personnel, working alongside the sailors and marines on board Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dauntless, were then able to seize £60m worth of cocaine, which the smugglers had been attempting to throw overboard.
The Portsmouth-based destroyer has now taken her tally to more than £200m worth of illegal narcotics intercepted after hunting down the 35ft vessel.
The Royal Navy said: “During a routine counter-narcotics patrol of the Caribbean Sea, Dauntless launched her Wildcat helicopter and Royal Marines sniper team to close in on the suspect craft.
“When smugglers began to jettison their illegal cargo, their engines were taken out with precision by the commando snipers, bringing the boat to a juddering halt.
“That allowed a US Coast Guard team to be dispatched from Dauntless and 11 large bales of cocaine weighing 330kg to be seized.”
HMS Dauntless took her tally to more than £200m worth of illegal narcotics intercepted after hunting down the 35ft power boat (Picture: Royal Navy).
‘Proved their resilience’
HMS Dauntless’ Commanding Officer, Commander Ben Dorrington, said: “With another bust under the ship’s belt I cannot ask for more from my team.
“Their work ethos and attention to detail remains second to none, which shines through on such interdiction operations such as the last few months.
“The ship’s company have once again proved their resilience whilst in theatre, being able to adapt extremely efficiently to the ever-changing environment we work in.”
Earlier in the same patrol, but in a separate operation, suspected smugglers scuttled their speedboat as Dauntless closed in.
After being guided into position by US maritime patrol aircraft, Dauntless deployed her US Coast Guard detachment to board and search the craft – only for it to turn into a rescue operation when the small speedboat was sabotaged by its crew.
With their alleged smuggling mission foiled, cargo lost and boat sunk, two people were saved and brought aboard HMS Dauntless where they received medical treatment, food and water before being transferred to a US Navy ship the following day.
Dauntless deployed to the Caribbean in May, and have joined the international fight against drugs smuggling (Picture: Royal Navy).
One of Dauntless’ officers said: “It is imperative that the safety of all personnel involved is paramount, including that of the people suspected of transporting illicit contraband.
“To that end, it was vital that with their fast-sinking vessel, we suspended the boarding operation in order to rescue the two souls on the small craft to ensure their safety and lives were not put at risk.”
Dauntless deployed to the Caribbean in May to work with British Overseas Territories during the region’s hurricane season, but also to join the international fight against drug smuggling.
In this role, Dauntless works closely with US authorities – embarking a US Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team which has the authority to board and search suspect vessels.
HMS Dauntless has a Wildcat helicopter and Royal Marines sniper team from 42 Commando who provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and aerial support (Picture: Royal Navy).
Along with the ship’s powerful array of sensors and radars, Dauntless has a Wildcat helicopter and Royal Marines sniper team from 42 Commando who provide reconnaissance, surveillance and aerial support during complex and often dangerous boarding operations.
Adding to their tally and proving their ability to operate seamlessly with US authorities, the ship later tracked a suspicious aircraft flying from Venezuela, alerting ground forces who seized a further 550kg of cocaine.
The annual exercise drew together maritime, air and land forces from Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) countries; Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Following a weeklong harbour phase, the 10-day sea phase in the seas off Malaysia and Singapore had Brisbane and partner nations engaging in combined training across several maritime warfare disciplines.
Crews practised maritime interdiction skills, which are vital for intercepting military or civilian shipping to enforce embargoes, protect seagoing trade, counter piracy or – during conflict – disrupt supply lines and blockade ports.
Boarding parties deployed via the ship’s rigid hull inflatable boats, supported by Brisbane’s MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, provided overwatch while they boarded simulated merchant ships, played by Royal New Zealand Navy logistics ship HMNZS Aotearoa and Royal Malaysian Navy Keris-class littoral mission ship KD Keris.
Bridge teams practised ship handling and communications skills by conducting close, coordinated manoeuvring with partner nations’ ships – called officer-of-the-watch manoeuvres – and during replenishments at sea as Brisbane refuelled from Aotearoa.
Interoperability – the ability of partner militaries to operate together – was enhanced by many activities, including operating the Super Seasprite helicopter from New Zealand’s Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana from Brisbane’s flight deck.
Brisbane also strengthened international relations by hosting visits from Singaporean, Malaysian and New Zealand Navy personnel.
CAPTION: HMAS Brisbane and HMNZS Te Mana prepares to conduct a replenishment at sea with HMNZS Aotearoa. Photo by Leading Seaman Belinda Cole.
Commanding Officer Brisbane Commander Grant Coleman praised his ship’s company for their efforts during Bersama Lima.
“Opportunities to engage and exercise with our FPDA partners on this scale are valuable, and it was fantastic to see the smooth integration of personnel from all five nations working seamlessly together,” Commander Coleman said.
“Brisbane’s crew performed exceptionally, rising to the challenge of training in a complex and congested air and maritime environment while supporting our partners, demonstrating again the resilience of the FPDA partner nations.”
Bersama Lima focused on combined joint operations in a multi-threat environment across land, air and maritime domains, with training designed to enhance interoperability and strengthen professional relationships.
About 800 ADF personnel deployed to Malaysia for the exercise, with assets including F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft, C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft, the destroyer Brisbane and its embarked MH-60R Seahawk helicopter.
The FPDA, established in 1971, is the only multilateral security arrangement of its kind in Southeast Asia.
Brisbane participated in the exercise as part of a regional presence deployment throughout south-east and north-east Asia. Along with HMA Ships Stalwart and Toowoomba, Brisbane has been conducting training, exercises, port visits and other engagements with regional partners.
This photo shows the HMNZS Aotearoa in the port of Manila.
New Zealand Embassy to the Philippines / Released
MANILA, Philippines — New Zealand navy ship made a “goodwill visit” to the Philippines after visiting Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
According to the New Zealand Embassy, the three-day goodwill visit presents New Zealand’s “dedication to maritime security, regional stability, and fostering diplomatic relations in the Indo-Pacific.”
“The visit demonstrates our increasing engagement in Southeast Asia and of course, the Philippines is an important part or country in the region. New Zealand would like to engage with like-minded countries, countries which share our values and we support each other in maintaining rules-based order,” Commander Robert Welford, Commanding Officer of HMNZS Aotearoa, said.
HMNZS Aotearoa participated in Operation Crucible, the New Zealand Defence Force’s largest naval deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
“The HMNZS Aotearoa’s visit to the Philippines underscores New Zealand’s dedication to maritime security, regional stability, and fostering diplomatic relations in the Indo-Pacific. Ito ay nagsisilbing patunay sa matibay na samahan ng New Zealand at Pilipinas,” New Zealand Ambassador Peter Kell said. (It serves as a testament to the strong and enduring partnership between New Zealand and the Philippines.)
The HMNZS Aotearoa is an auxiliary ship of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) which was manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the same manufacturer of the Philippine Navy’s flagship BRP Jose Rizal and some off-shore patrol vessels.
The said vessel is the biggest and newest ship of the RNZN. It has been in Manila’s dock from October 30 to November 1.
Ships from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike groups, U.S. 6th Fleet command ship Mount Whitney and Italian Navy frigates Carlo Margottini and Virginio Fasan sail in formation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers/Navy)
As the world waits to see whether the Israel-Hamas war will balloon into a larger regional conflict, two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted exercises together in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea this week.
Sailors from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as two Italian frigates — Virginio Fasan and Carlo Margottini — and the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship Mount Whitney, engaged in “high-value unit defense, ballistic missile defense, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations and maritime security operations,” the Navy said Friday.
More than 11,000 U.S. personnel participated in the three-day exercise.
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FILE PHOTO: People attend the launch ceremony of China’s first domestically built polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, at a shipyard in Shanghai, China September 10, 2018. Picture taken September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
BEIJING, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Two Chinese icebreaker research vessels and a cargo ship set sail on Wednesday for the Antarctic with more than 460 personnel on board to help complete construction of China’s fifth station on the world’s southernmost continent.
China’s biggest flotilla of research vessels deployed to the Antarctic will focus on building the station on the rocky, windswept Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, a deep Southern Ocean bay named after a 19th century British explorer.
Work on the first Chinese station in the Pacific sector began in 2018. It will be used to conduct research on the region’s environment, state television reported.
China has four research stations in the Antarctic built from 1985 to 2014. A U.S.-based think tank estimated the fifth could be finished next year.
The facility is expected to include an observatory with a satellite ground station, and should help China “fill in a major gap” in its ability to access the continent, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report this year.
The station is also well situated to collect signals intelligence over Australia and New Zealand and telemetry data on rockets launched from Australia’s new Arnhem Space Centre, it said.
China rejects suggestions that its stations would be used for espionage.
The two icebreakers, Xuelong 1 and Xuelong 2, the name means “Snow Dragon” in Chinese, set sail from Shanghai with mostly personnel and logistics supplies on board.
The cargo ship “Tianhui,” or “Divine Blessings,” taking construction material for the station, set off from the eastern port of Zhangjiagang.
The five-month mission will include a survey on the impact of climate change.
The two icebreakers will also conduct environmental surveys in the Prydez Bay, the Astronaut Sea in southeast Antarctic, and in the Ross Sea and Amundsen Sea in the west.
The mission, China’s 40th to the Antarctic, will also cooperate with countries including the United States, Britain, and Russia on logistics supply, state media said.
(Reporting by Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo; editing by Robert Birsel)(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023.
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The U.S. Navy battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) underway off New York City (USA) during the Naval Review before President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 31 May 1934. Pennsylvania was then serving as flagship of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral David F. Sellers, USN
