Armed Forces News

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

Ukraine's military said on Sunday it had struck and damaged a long-serving Russian rescue vessel in Sevastopol, the headquarters in occupied Crimea of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the vessel, the Kommuna, had been hit in Sevastopol Bay on Sunday morning and it was "clear that the ship is no longer in a state to carry out assignments."A post on the Ukrainian Armed Forces Telegram channel said the ship was one of the oldest operated by the Russian…

Taiwan's homegrown submarine programme will remain on track, the defence minister said on Wednesday, after the head of the programme resigned due to what he said were unfair attacks against him and the military.Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has made the submarine programme a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert sovereignty claims Taipei rejects.Taiwan unveiled the first of eight new submarines in late September, though it won't enter service until next year.

An activated but faulty missile launcher on a Danish navy vessel triggered a closure of airspace and shipping traffic in the Great Belt strait on Thursday, the Danish armed forces said.Denmark's National Maritime Authority had earlier warned ships not to sail through the Great Belt strait, one of the world's busiest sea lanes and the main maritime access to the Baltic Sea, due to the risk of "falling missile fragments"."The problem occurred during a mandatory test where the missile launcher is activated and cannot be deactivated…

Bollinger Shipyards announced it has laid the keel for the future USNS Muscogee Creek Nation at its yard in Houma, La.The vessel is the 10th Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) and the fifth T-ATS vessel being constructed by Bollinger since acquiring the program in April of 2021.The keel authenticators were the Hon. David W. Hill, Principal Chief of the Muscogee Creek Nation, the Hon. Geri Wisner, Attorney General of the Muscogee Creek Nation and ship sponsor…

Taiwan dispatched coast guard boats on Thursday to join a rescue mission at China's request after a fishing vessel capsized near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, amid heightened tension in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, over the island's strong objections, and has stepped up military activities near it in recent years, with almost daily incursions into air defence identification zones.Authorities on both sides sent the rescue boats after a Chinese fishing vessel capsized in the early hours, Taiwan's coast guard said in a state

Yemen's Houthis fired a missile that likely targeted the Torm Thor in the Gulf of Aden on Feb. 24 but missed the U.S.-flagged oil tanker, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday, as the Iran-aligned militia steps up attacks on ships.Shipping risks have escalated due to repeated Houthi drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait since November in support of Palestinians in Gaza. U.S. and British forces have responded with several strikes on Houthi…

The German government has approved the deployment of armed forces in a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia, a government spokesperson said on Friday.Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels following attacks by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza."The ongoing escalation of violence and the threat to life and limb of the crews of ships…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility on Saturday for an attack on the oil tanker M/T Pollux, which U.S. officials said the previous day had been hit by a missile."The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against a British oil ship (Pollux) in the Red Sea with a large number of appropriate naval missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement, adding the strikes "were accurate and direct".U.S. Central Command…

Ukraine destroyed a Russian landing warship off the coast of occupied Crimea in an operation with naval drones that breached the vessel's port side on Wednesday and caused it to sink, Kyiv's military spy agency and armed forces said.There was no immediate comment from Russia, which said earlier that it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea. The Kremlin declined to comment."The Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with the Defense Ministry's intelligence unit, destroyed the Tsezar Kunikov large landing ship.

American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group Inc. (ARC) added ARC Honor as the ninth American flag roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel to its fleet.“This tremendously capable and flexible U.S.-flag ship is crewed by American merchant mariners and now operates in ARC’s global network supporting America’s national defense and economic security through trade,” said Eric Ebeling, ARC President & CEO. The vessel is ARC’s fourth large car/truck carrier (LCTC) vessel.The former Tulane was re-flagged to American registry and re-named the ARC Honor on February 2, 2024.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has approved the third phase of the military's modernization, which includes the purchase of the country's first submarine, in order to defend its maritime sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea.Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Roy Trinidad, said on Thursday the third phase of modernization reflected a shift in strategy away from internal to external defense."We may not be a large navy...but we would have a navy that will take care of our territorial rights and sovereignty…

The U.S. military on Monday denied claims made by the Yemeni Houthi movement that it had attacked American cargo ship Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden."The Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists' report of an alleged successful attack on M/V Ocean Jazz is patently false," the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement. "NAVCENT has maintained constant communications with M/V Ocean Jazz throughout its safe transit."The Houthi movement earlier in the day said its forces had launched a missile attack on Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden.

Germany is expected to participate in a European Union naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea that EU foreign ministers will approve this month, the head of the German parliamentary defence committee said.Speaking at her party's reception for the new year on Sunday, Maria-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said the aim of the mission would be for EU frigates to protect commercial vessels passing through the strait.The approaches to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping lanes…

U.S. and British strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen were a limited act of self defense and London does not immediately plan any further missions, its junior defense minister said on Friday.The two countries launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October.British Armed Forces minister James Heappey said the strikes were a proportionate response…

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday said the deployment of a British warship to waters off the coast of Guyana breaches the "spirit" of an agreement reached between Venezuelan and Guyanese authorities.Guyana and Venezuela agreed earlier this month to avoid the use of force and avoid increasing tensions in the long border dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo territory.The 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) Essequibo region is generally recognized as part of Guyana…

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Saturday they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.The Iran-aligned group is escalating the risks of a regional conflict amid a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.The Houthis have attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and its Bab al-Mandab strait, a sea lane through which much of the world's oil is shipped…

Canada's understaffed and resource-stretched navy is in "a critical state" and might not be able to carry out its basic duties next year, the top admiral said in a YouTube video released this week.The comments by Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee are an unusually blunt expression of unhappiness from the military over the state of the armed forces. Canada only spends about 1.3% of its annual gross domestic product on defense, much less than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization target of 2%.In the video…

French shipyard PIRIOU has delivered a second offshore patrol vessel to the Senegalese Navy.The vessel is part of the OPV 58 S class vessel program. The contract, signed in November 2019, covered the acquisition of three offshore patrol vessels. After the Walo, delivered last June, and while the Cayor is being fitted out in Concarneau, the Niani is now flying the Senegalese flag ahead of schedule.Minister of the Armed Forces Omar Youm stated that “the acquisition of three offshore patrol vessels is an excellent demonstration of the significant investments made by the State of Senegal…

The Philippines on Monday accused Chinese coastguard vessels of "intentionally" colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission in a disputed part of the South China Sea, as ties deteriorated between the Southeast Asian U.S. ally and Beijing.Both sides traded accusations after the latest incident on Sunday, which was the most serious yet in the waters around the disputed Second Thomas shoal, though no one was harmed.China said on Sunday that the Philippine boats "bumped dangerously" with the coastguard vessels and "Chinese fishing vessels" fishing there.On Monday…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a supplemental proposed rule to reduce the spread of invasive species though ballast water that occurs with normal operation of large marine vessels.Following public input on EPA’s 2020 proposed rule—including meetings with states, tribes and other stakeholders—the agency is now issuing a Supplemental Notice to share new data and control options raised by stakeholders. This supplemental proposal will bolster the development…

The United States has bolstered its fleet of U.S.-flagged sustainment sealift vessels and product tankers to support the Department of Defense (DoD) during times of armed conflict or national emergency.The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) in recent months has been building up fleets of commercial vessels under its Maritime Security Program (MSP) and Tanker Security Program (TSP), and on Tuesday it announced full enrollment in each.The newly selected MSP vessels Liberty Power and Tulane operate under Liberty Global Logistics, LLC of Lake Success, N.Y. and American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group Inc.'s (ARC) shipowning component Fidelio Limited Partnership of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., respectively.

The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded £3.95 billion (currently ~$4,81 billion) of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the UK's next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine program, known as SSN-AUKUS.According to BAE Systems, SSN-AUKUS will be the largest, most powerful, and most advanced attack submarine the Royal Navy has ever operated and will eventually replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems builds at its site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.The funding follows the AUKUS announcement in March by the leaders of Australia, the UK and the United States.