USS Porter (DDG-78), left, transits the Black Sea alongside the Georgian Coast Guard vessel GCG Ochamchire (P-23) on June 22, 2020. US Navy Photo
The commander of a U.S. destroyer is on “higher alert” due to Russian presence in the Black Sea during the ongoing Sea Breeze exercise. Read More
A Tomahawk land attack missile launched from USS John Warner (SSN-785) as part of the April 13, 2018 strike against Syrian chemical weapon strikes. US Navy Image
THE PENTAGON — Saturday’s pre-dawn joint air strike against three Syrian chemical weapons facilities was notable not just for its success, but for also being the first time a Virginia-class submarine fired missiles in combat and the first time Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) were used tactically, USNI News has learned. Read More
USS Monterey (CG 61) fires a Tomahawk land attack missile April 13, 2018 against land targets in Syria. US Navy Photo
U.S and French guided-missile warships and a U.S. nuclear attack submarine launched land attack missiles on targets in Syria suspected to be targets related to chemical weapons, Pentagon officials said on Saturday. Read More
Promotional photos of the Murmansk-BN system. Sputnik Photo
Russia has installed a modern mobile electronic warfare system in Crimea to eavesdrop on U.S. ships in the Black Sea and potentially jam their communications, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Monday. Read More
A Russian Kilo submarine passes the parade stand during the Russia Navy Day celebration in Vladivostok. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to clarify the deployment of Russian Navy Kilo-class attack submarineRostov-na-Donu.
The sinking of the Russian signals intelligence ship Liman after a collision with a Togo-flagged freighter bound for Jordan puts the spotlight back on a Russian Navy that is increasingly active in the maritime domain in and around Europe and a Black Sea region that continues to be tense in the wake of the 2014 Ukraine crisis when Russia annexed Crimea. Read More
USS Porter (DDG-78) on Jan. 6, 2017. US Navy Photo
A U.S. guided missile destroyer was buzzed by four Russian military aircraft last week – with one coming as close 200 yards – in incidents the Navy has deemed, “unsafe and unprofessional,” a U.S. European Command spokesman told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
Two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft fly over the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) on Apr. 12, 2016. US Navy Photo
This piece is based on the recently released Atlantic Council Issue Brief “A Maritime Framework for the Baltic Sea Region” by Magnus Nordenman and Franklin D. Kramer.
The Baltic Sea region has emerged as one of the friction zones between an aggressive Russia and the United States and its NATO allies in northeastern Europe. Recently the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) was twice buzzed by Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencers during an exercise in the Baltic Sea. The Cook incident is just the most recent of a string of close encounters between Russia and the West at sea and in the air over the Baltic Sea over the last two years. Read More
Gen. Curtis “Mike” Scaparrotti. CSPAN Photo
The nominee to command American and NATO forces in Europe says Russia needs to receive a “strong, clear and consistent” message about what could happen if its aircraft cross the line in endangering U.S. ships and airplanes when lawfully operating. Read More
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) on April 12, 2016. US Navy Photo
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The fly-by of the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) in the Baltic Sea by Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencers on two separate occasions earlier this week serves as a dramatic reminder of the Baltic Sea region as a friction zone between Russia and the U.S. and its NATO allies. Read More
Two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft fly over the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) April 11, 2016. US Navy Photo
This post will be updated as additional information becomes available.
The guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) was buzzed on April 11, 2016 in the Baltic Sea by a pair of Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer fighters. As seen in a video released by U.S. European Command on Wednesday afternoon. Read More
