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
Adm. Mark Ferguson at The Atlantic Council on Oct. 6, 2015. Atlantic Council Image
Russia has found ways to slow NATO military responses while simultaneously quickening its own ability to mobilize, the commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa said, and NATO needs to find ways to adapt. Read More
USS Porter (DDG 78) pulls alongside the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13) before a replenishment-at-sea on April 15, 2015. US Navy Photo
As part of the U.S. and NATO’s presence mission on the Black Sea, guided missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) is set to enter the region on Tuesday, U.S. 6th Fleet announced. Read More
Russian cruiser Moscow.
A Black Sea-based Russian surface action group scrambled to the Eastern Mediterranean —under the guise of drilling in the region — are likely there to provide an air defense bubble to protect Russian fighters striking targets in Syria, according to a Russian press report. Read More
Russian ship Moscow in 2009.
Several Russian warships are bound for the Eastern Mediterranean for high-end exercises, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence. Read More
