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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine has sunk or disabled a third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea in just over two years of war, the navy spokesman said Tuesday, a heavy blow to Moscow’s military capability. Ukraine’s Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told The Associated Press that the latest strike on Saturday night hit the Russian amphibious landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky that was resting in dock in Sevastopol in Russia-occupied Crimea. The ship was part of the Ukrainian navy before Russia captured it while annexing the Black Sea peninsula in 2014. Pletenchuk has previously announced that two other landing...

Two Royal navy warships have suffered damage after colliding with each other in Bahrain. Footage of the incident, which happened in Bahrain Harbour on Thursday, shows the HMS Chiddingfold smashing into HMS Bangor, in what appeared to be a bungled attempt to reverse alongside it. The collision is being investigated by British naval authorities (Video at the link)

Speaking at the Grain from Ukraine conference in Kyiv on Saturday, Nov. 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that partner countries have committed to transferring warships to Ukraine to enhance the safety of vessels navigating the critical "grain corridor" in the Black Sea. Zelensky hailed the establishment and operation of the "grain corridor" as one of the notable achievements of the year. "We have reached agreements with our partners and will provide sea escorts to ensure the safety of ships," explained President Zelensky during the conference. He emphasized that specific agreements for receiving the warships have already been made, making it...

The Ukrainian military struck two Russian military transport ships with sea-based drones Thursday evening, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced. The transport ships were crewed and carried armored vehicles for transport in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military claimed, also publishing video of the attacks. It was unclear whether the ships were sunk. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed similar transport ships were being used as makeshift anti-aircraft platforms around Crimea. The Russian military has not commented on the attacks, but it claimed two Ukrainian aerial drones were shot down over Crimea overnight. Ukraine has focused strikes on Russia’s naval forces in...

The United States sent warships and fighter jets to support Israel on Sunday night in a show of strength against Hamas. Joe Biden deployed the US Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, six other ships and a number of advanced jets to the Eastern Mediterranean, as Israel’s allies, including the UK, rallied to its defence.The move raises tensions in the region, with Iranian intelligence officials accused of planning Hamas’s surprise terror attack on Israel that saw 700 killed and more than 100 taken hostage. Around 250 are feared to have been massacred at a rave in the desert in the south...

China is attempting to increase its naval warship capabilities by restarting its mass production of guided-missile destroyers, according to multiple reports. The Chinese Communist Party-controlled newspaper the Global Times reported on Tuesday that China would complete its military expansion and modernization by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests," while Naval News reported that five 052D destroyers, which are capable for launching long-range missiles, are currently being built.

The United States has cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, amid concerns over a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders. Washington and NATO have been alarmed by the build-up near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Last week, Turkey said Washington would send two warships to the Black Sea, in a decision Russia called an unfriendly provocation. The U.S. Embassy in Ankara had notified Turkey's foreign ministry of the move, the sources said, but did not provide a reason. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news...

In accordance with the Montreux Convention, the Turkish Foreign Ministry was previously alerted via diplomatic channels that two US warships would be passing through the Bosphorus Strait in order to reach the Black Sea. The warships were originally slated to begin travel on April 14 and remain in the Black Sea until May 4. "Yes, the US embassy has notified our ministry about this," a Turkish foreign ministry source told Sputnik on Wednesday, regarding reports of the cancellation.

MOSCOW - The Russian and Egyptian Navy are preparing to conduct maneuvers, the first of their kind in the Black Sea. According to the press office of the Russian Southern Military District, representatives of the two armies held a three-day conference in Novorossiysk on the preparation of the joint exercises "Friendship Bridge - 2020", which will be held for the first time in the Black Sea. The Black Sea is an inland sea located between the southeastern part of Europe and Asia Minor. It connects with the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus Strait and the Sea of ​​Marmara, and it...

The US and Russian warships came somewhere between 50 feet and 165 feet of each other, according to the two opposing reports, with both sides alleging their ships were forced to perform emergency maneuvers to avoid a collision, which can be seen in video and a picture of the event obtained by CNN. "A Russian destroyer .... made an unsafe maneuver against USS Chancellorsville, closing to 50-100 feet, putting the safety of her crew and ship at risk," US Navy spokesman Cmdr. Clayton Doss told CNN in a statement. "This unsafe action forced Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full...

The Navy will investigate whether two US destroyers were hacked before they collided with merchant ships in a pair of recent crashes, according to a top Navy admiral. "2 clarify Re: possibility of cyber intrusion or sabotage, no indications right now ... but review will consider all possibilities," tweeted Admiral John Richardson, referencing sweeping new investigations announced Monday into two recent accidents involving Naval warships in the Pacific.

Seeking to interdict Federal naval operations in Hampton Roads, the ironclad CSS Virginia (ex-Merrimack) left its berth at Norfolk and steamed out to attack the nearby Union ships. Under the command of Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, the CSS Virginia headed straight for the USS Cumberland off Newport News. Around 2pm on March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia struck the Cumberland with its 1,500lb iron ram, smashing a huge hole in its wooden hull. Despite the mortal blow delivered to the Cumberland, the CSS Virginia, which had become entangled within the shredded hull of its opponent, was also at risk of...

Angola’s bizarre, rumored aircraft carrier ambition David Axe in War is Boring Angola is in the process of acquiring the recently-decommissioned Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias, according to one news report. The entire Angolan navy has just 1,000 sailors. The 643-foot-long Principe de Asturias needs 830 sailors to fully function. No, this does not make a lot of sense. After all, Angola has no overseas military alliances and no major naval rivals. But if true, it is consistent with the country’s ongoing re-armament, which also includes a squadron of Russian-made heavy jet fighters formerly used by India. Necessary or...

On Oct. 15, 2016 in Baltimore on the U.S. East Coast, the U.S. Navy commissioned the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt into service following a protracted and costly development. Six hundred feet long and displacing 14,500 tons, Zumwalt — the first of three stealthy land-attack destroyers — is America’s largest surface combatant in generations.

Despite demands from France's Hollande, America's Obama, and NATO's Stoltenberg that this situation not esclate, it appears Putin is not taking the shooting down of a fighter jet lying down. The seemingly cagey confirmation by NATO and Obama of Turkey's claims that Russia invaded its airspace has been rebuked by Russia which claims the Hmeimim airbase radar shows the attacking Turkish plane violating Syrian airspace. In response, Russia is moving a Cruiser 'Moskva' off the coast to strengthen air-defenses - just as French and US carriers are on their way. Here is The Turkish version mapping of the flight paths... Russia...

Russia launches cruise missile strikes over Raqqa, which is seen as Islamic State's capital city in Syria The strikes come after it was revealed French jets had pounded targets in the terrorists' Syrian stronghold Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered his warships to work with France as 'allies' in their fight Their forces carried out 34 cruise missile strikes over Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo just days after the Paris terror attacks Meanwhile, France's defense minister says 10 French fighter jets are carrying out new airstrikes on Islamic State Russia are also reportedly transporting paramilitary forces across Syria to fight ISIS...

Update: CHINA SUMMONS U.S. AMBASSADOR OVER SOUTH CHINA SEA PATROL: CCTVWell, the USS Lassen sailed within 12-nautical miles of Subi Reef and surprisingly, World War III did not break out overnight. (USS Lassen)(Subi reef)Nine months of tension between Washington and Beijing over the latter’s land reclamation efforts in The South China Sea culminated on Monday with President Obama’s decision to send a guided missile destroyer to China’s man-made military outposts on a “freedom of navigation” exercise. As we put it on Monday evening: "The ball is now squarely in China's court. The question now is whether Beijing will back down...

Iranian and Russian warships took part in joint "war games" training exercises on Tuesday in Iranian waters, giving clear expression to the military cooperation between the two states. Commander of Iran's fleet in the Northern Gilan province Admiral Ahmad Reza Baqeri told Fars News Agency ahead of the war games that the Iranian destroyer Damavand and missile ships Joshan and Peikan took part in the drills, manned by 200 Iranian naval forces members. From the Russian side, the warships Volgodonsk and Makhachkala which docked in Anzali Port near the Caspian Sea on Sunday took part in the drills. After the...

Naval Forces from 10 NATO countries and Sweden have launched a massive anti-submarine exercise in the Norwegian Sea. The two-week exercise, dubbed Dynamic Mongoose, brings together thousands of NATO troops, and dozens of vessels, including submarines, that will practice hunting, attacking and avoiding detection, according to news reports. This year's annual exercise comes amid rising concerns by NATO that Russia could employ the same tactics in the three Baltic states — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — that it used in Ukraine. The three small countries rely on the Nordic countries for protection.

Iranian Warships Arrive Near Yemen Comes just days after U.S. announced it would send its own warships A fleet of Iranian warships arrived near the southern coast of Yemen on Wednesday in a move likely to add greater tension in a developing U.S.-Iranian standoff in the region, according Iranian military leaders. Just days after the United States announced it would send its own warships to Yemen in order to prevent Iran from smuggling weapons to terror forces fighting there, a flotilla of Iranian destroyers docked in the same area. Iran’s military moves are likely to increase tensions between the two...