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An undated picture of a Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol craft.
Some critics attribute the increased number of aggressive air-to-air intercepts and incidents at sea to what they argue is the current administration’s weak foreign policy. That claim raises some interesting points when analyzed. There is a strong counter-argument to such claims. Read More
P-8A Poseidon. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with additional information on U.S. P-8A deployments to Europe.
A Russian fighter has come within 10 feet of a Navy surveillance flight over the Black Sea on Wednesday, defense officials told USNI News. Read More
Russian Admiral Grigorovich frigate. Sputnik Photo
India is set to purchase three frigates from Moscow originally intended for Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet, according to a Thursday report in Jane’s Defence Weekly. Read More
USS Ross (DDG-71) transits the Bosphorus Strait July 22, 2016. US Navy Photo
A U.S. guided missile destroyer and an amphibious warship are set to operate in the Black Sea as part of the Sea Breeze 2016 exercise hosted by Ukraine and the U.S., the Navy announced on Friday. Read More
US Marines with the Black Sea Rotational Force, fires TOW anti-tank missile on July 8 in Bulgaria. US Marine Corps Photo
By quadrupling spending to counter a mounting threat from Moscow, the United States’ military emphasis in Europe has shifted from reassuring allies and partners to deterring Russia from “exercising malign influence [and using] coercion” to bully countries on its western and southern borders, witnesses told a key House panel Wednesday. Read More
U.S. Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment participate in an amphibious landing exercise in Ustka, Poland, during the NATO exercise BALTOPS 2016. US Navy photo.
NATO members must increase the alliance’s military capabilities, position additional forces in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, establish a maritime force in the Black Sea and bolster its presence in the Arctic, all to counter Russia’s growing military strength and increasingly belligerent behavior toward its neighbors, the Atlantic Council said in a new report. Read More
USS Porter (DDG-78) crossing the Bosphorus Strait on June 6, 2016. Bosphorus Naval News Photo used with permission
A U.S. guided missile destroyer has entered the Black Sea for the first time this year, according to the ship-spotting site Bosphorus Naval News. Read More
Russian fighters operating from Syria. TASS Photo
Russia is set to start withdrawing troops from Syria as early as Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. Read More
A U.S. Air Force Boeing RC-135U Combat Sent aircraft in 2004. US Air Force Photo
PENTAGON — A Russian fighter intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance flight in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner’ in international airspace over the Black Sea, a Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. Read More
An AV-8B Harrier assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU), launches from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) on Nov. 19, 2015. US Navy Photo
Naval forces resumed air strikes against the Islamic State this week after a one-month pause in participation in Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the Navy announced today. Read More
