A sailor walks across the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on July 26, 2019. US Navy Photo
This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.
While China and Russia are the long-term focus of the National Defense Strategy, the Navy’s 2019 operations were still heavily centered on countering threats in the Middle East. Read More
Sailors man the rails of the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) to commemorate Memorial Day off the coast of Normandy, France, May 27, 2019. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS MOUNT WHITNEY, IN THE BALTIC SEA – Six flag and general officers’ staffs roam the ship, moving from individual offices to the operations center hub and back again to command and control multinational forces at sea and ashore. Read More
Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge returns to homeport, July 18, 2019, after the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group’s (ARG) regularly scheduled, seven-month deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. Navy photo.
Amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) returned to Norfolk Thursday morning, after completing a seven-month deployment to Europe and the Middle East and having offloaded members of the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in North Carolina earlier this week.
Russian Steregushchiy-class corvette Boikiy (532) approaches Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) in the Baltic Sea during the BALTOPS 2019 exercise. Exercise and regional leaders have said that all recent interactions with the Russian Navy had been safe and professional. USNI News photo.
ABOARD USS GRAVELY, IN THE BALTIC SEA – “Away, SNOOPIE team, away. Surface contact on port side.” Read More
Standing NATO Maritime Group One flagship USS Gravely (DDG 107) leads 11 naval ships from nine nations in close formation during a Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2019 exercise on June 16, 2019. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS GRAVELY, IN THE BALTIC SEA — The U.S. Navy is leading a decades-old NATO maritime group, serving as a first-responder force in northern European waters and building interoperability among NATO allies while also re-learning lessons for the U.S. Navy about operating in that region. Read More
Marines assigned to 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22 MEU) establish communications with the Polish Lubin-class mine layer-landing ship ORP Gniezno during exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2019 on June 16, 2019. US Navy Photo
ABOARD USS MOUNT WHITNEY, IN THE BALTIC SEA – Amphibious forces in BALTOPS 2019 tested out new, high-end tactics for the first time in a live exercise, working in a less-rigid structure that allows enablers like air-defense or anti-submarine ships, mine clearance teams and artillery units to flow through the operating area to where they can do the most good. Read More
A Mk 18 Mod 2 is submerged from the stern of FSG Kronsort during experimental Mine Countermeasure (MCM) operations. Their experimentation objectives include collecting performance measurements in an operationally relevant environment for future improvements to systems. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS MOUNT WHITNEY, IN THE BALTIC SEA – As the U.S. Navy undergoes a major transition in how it conducts mine warfare, it had the chance to test out its newest tools during BALTOPS 2019 alongside European partners who are mine warfare experts. Read More
HMS Albion (L14) conducted officer of the watch maneuvers today (25th May 2109), in company with HNLMS Johan de Witt (L801), HDMS Absalon (L16), RFA Argus (A135), HNoMS Glimt (P964) and HNoMS Steil (P963). The maneuvers are a test for the bridge team, operating in such close proximity to the other ships in the task group. HMS Albion is currently deployed on Baltic Protector 19, the inaugural deployment of Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime). Royal Navy photo
ABOARD HMS ALBION, IN THE BALTIC SEA – The U.K. and its partners are testing out a first-responder force that could beat NATO to the punch if a crisis were to occur in Northern European waters. Read More
Spanish navy combat rubber raiding crafts (CRRC) approach the Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) as part of exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2019, on June 18, 2019. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS MOUNT WHITNEY, IN THE BALTIC SEA – As this year’s BALTOPS exercise shaped up to be the largest in years, exercise planners also sought to make the annual event more focused on high-end warfighting than previous iterations, BALTOPS leadership told USNI News. Read More
A Spanish amphibious assault vehicle brought Spanish ground forces ashore during an amphibious demonstration at Palanga, Lithuania, during BALTOPS 2019. USNI News photo.
PALANGA, LITHUANIA – Spanish amphibious assault vehicles swam ashore from an American amphibious dock landing ship, with ground forces filing out with their machine guns and taking a position on the beach. Romanian ground forces spilled out of a Polish PTS tracked vehicle, shortly before seven landing craft from three nations slid up onto the beach in perfect symmetry. British forces fast-roped down out of an AW101 Merlin helicopter at the same time Spanish troops did the same from their AH-3 Sea King helo.
As the U.S. Navy and its NATO allies showed off the various ways they could take a beach from the sea, they were also showing a deeper commitment to collective security in the Baltic Sea and in Europe in general. Read More
