Latest news with #U.S.SixthFleet
Miami Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Videos Show US Destroyers Training To Intercept Ballistic Missiles
The United States demonstrated its naval power as a pair of destroyers intercepted ballistic missiles during live-fire drills in Europe, showcasing its combat credibility to potential adversaries. "The two destroyers' successful missile intercepts demonstrated the lethality of U.S. Navy systems and the ability to operate seamlessly with Allied nations to maintain a stable security environment," the Europe-headquartered U.S. Sixth Fleet announced on Thursday. U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers equipped with Aegis weapons systems to provide "integrated air and missile defense," regularly conduct missile tests. As of December 2023, a total of 49 Aegis-equipped ships capable of ballistic missile defense were in service. The missile intercept drills come as President Donald Trump revealed details of the $175 billion Golden Dome initiative, which aims at "forever ending the missile threat to the [U.S.] homeland" by building a multi-layered defense grid that includes space-based interceptors. The drills were part of Exercise At Sea Demonstration/Formidable Shield 25 (ASD/FS 25), which has been taking place in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean since May 3. It features air and missile defense drills against a range of threats. The three-week exercise aims to strengthen NATO interoperability in "a joint, live-fire, Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) environment," using the alliance's command and control reporting structures, according to Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO. Destroyer USS Thomas Hudner launched a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) at a short-range ballistic missile target on May 15. Five days later, it and its sister ship, USS Bulkeley, intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target and a simulated target using a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor. Targets in both drills were "successfully engaged." According to U.S. major defense contractor Raytheon, the SM-3 is designed to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles, while the SM-6 is described as "three missiles in one," capable of conducting anti-air, anti-surface, and ballistic missile defense missions. Depending on its variant, the SM-3 has an estimated range of 434 to 1,550 miles, while the multifunctional SM-6 has a reported range of up to 290 miles, according to specialist outlets Naval News and Breaking Defense. The actual ranges of these missiles remain classified. As of last October, five U.S. Navy anti-ballistic missile destroyers were homeported in Spain, providing "full coverage and protection" for NATO European countries against the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles. The U.S. Sixth Fleet said: "ASD/FS 25 includes a series of live-fire events against unmanned air and surface systems, subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets, incorporating multiple Allied ships, multi-nation/multi-service ground-based air defenses, and aviation forces working across battlespaces to deliver lethal effects, accomplish exercise objectives, and hone warfighting skills." Captain Michael Dwan, commander of the Task Group 154.64 and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO)'s U.S. Maritime Ballistic Missile Defense Assets Adviser, said: "Exercises like ASD/FS are critical for refining our collective integrated air and missile defense capabilities, ensuring we can respond effectively to any threat from any direction and maintain a credible deterrent posture." The U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that a sixth destroyer based in Spain is scheduled to arrive at its new home port next year. These forward-deployed warships are intended to defend Europe against ballistic missile attacks from countries such as Iran. Related Articles India Ready to Raise US Oil Imports in Boost for TrumpMinuteman III vs Yars: US ICBM Passes Test Days After Russian Launch FlopsChinese Satellites Capture US Bombers and Jets at Island Air BaseNew US-Iran Nuclear Talks as Tensions Rise 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NATO to ask allies for 30% capability boost, top commander says
PARIS — NATO will ask alliance members to raise their military capability targets by 30% as the organization seeks to boost its force posture, according to the commander in charge of defense planning at the 32-nation alliance. The proposed capability targets have been accepted by 80% of the allies, with a goal of full consensus before a NATO summit in The Hague; Netherlands, in June, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Adm. Pierre Vandier said in a March 12 press briefing at the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum here. He said the biggest NATO members are signed on, 'even those who didn't usually accept,' without naming countries. The capability targets refer to the pool of forces and capabilities NATO considers necessary to fulfill its missions. Vandier said NATO asks allies to provide capabilities such as a localized brigade or an air and naval group rather than numbers of troops or equipment, with the details for national governments to fill in, and with no time constraints on when countries meet the targets. Allies are already 30% behind in delivering on existing capability targets, so the proposed increase means 'there's a huge hole,' Vandier said. 'We're at a moment in time where everything is important, we're lacking everything, and so we have to be quite astute.' U.S. President Donald Trump has said European NATO allies need to pay more for defense, threatening to deny security guarantees to those who don't spend enough. The alliance is expected to agree on higher budget targets ahead of the June summit, even as a third of its members in Europe last year failed to meet the current goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense. Mind the gaps: Europe's to-do list for defense without the US Vandier said any discussion about U.S. disengagement from the alliance is 'highly speculative,' with the Trump administration saying NATO is important, should be stronger and more lethal, and that the Europeans are going to pay. He noted the U.S. has accepted the 2025 capability targets, and hasn't said they won't contribute. 'What is certain is that today, the Americans have not said they are disengaging, what we can in fact imagine is that there will be a probable capacity rebalancing,' Vandier said. 'The issue is not NATO, the issue is the weight of the U.S. in Europe.' The budget of United States European Command is estimated at $60 billion to $70 billion, which includes the cost of some 100,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe and the U.S. Sixth Fleet, according to Vandier. Allied Command Transformation is pushing for NATO members to rebuild an arsenal of offensive weapons as a priority in order to ensure deterrence, Vandier said. The U.S. currently provides the bulk of offensive tools such as rocket artillery, so reinvesting in battlefield ballistics 'is extremely important.' Europeans need to be more aware that NATO seeks both to defend and to deter, according to Vandier. He said a shield without offensive capabilities deters no one, even encourages adversaries to try to pierce the shield, whereas conventional deterrents create strategic and tactical dilemmas for an adversary that make an attack more costly or complex. 'If we want to avoid war, the offensive tools must be sufficiently dissuasive,' Vandier said. 'Defensive strategies are systematically losing strategies.' He called the European Long-range Strike Approach project for long-range, ground-based conventional missiles 'a very, very good initiative that recreates deterrence tools.' Offensive electronic warfare and weapons to destroy enemy air defenses are two other 'extremely important' areas for investment, according to the commander. NATO members also need to build up overall force strength, as both 'the shield and the sword are too small,' Vandier said during a round table at the forum. That translates into more battalions, tanks, ships, artillery and other equipment – 'This is a big shopping list.' NATO asks for 'capabilities, not objects' to achieve the effects requested by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Vandier said. If an ally's mechanized brigade would consist of 20% drones and be twice as lethal as a result, that would allow that country to achieve its capacity targets faster than by adding 'soldiers with machetes and bayonets,' he said. European NATO stepping up may mean the continent handling its conventional defense and critical infrastructure, while the U.S. remains in charge of air or space as well as nuclear deterrence, said Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee. Dragone said Europe may need a 'multi-speed approach' to avoid slowing down its defense buildup, where nations that have strong military capability could lead operations and power projection, while others provide cyber, supply and enablers. Rebalancing of defense means some nations will be less dependent on or even independent from the U.S., he said. European armed forces need to invest in critical enablers, now mostly provided by the U.S., Vandier said. That means bolstering logistics, air-to-air refueling, command-and-control tools, ISR, electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defense and deep fires. Some enablers will be easy to build up, others will take 'complicated, long-term investments and a long-term commitment,' Vandier said. 'There are countries that are more eager to have a form of strategic autonomy, to use the French term, and others that are not at all interested in this matter,' Vandier said. 'What is certain is that especially with regards to command tools, we can clearly see that we have a real issue.' Another priority is new capabilities, including drones, artificial-intelligence tools, space-based imagery and robotics, according to Vandier. The advantage for Europe is that many of those new areas rely on dual-use technologies, allowing the military to tap into civilian capabilities, he said. The same satellite sensors that measure carbon emissions from space or detect forest fires can detect an aircraft taking off from a military base, while automotive-industry knowledge on robotics can be applied to military production, Vandier said. Space is the subject of 'rampant militarization,' including threats such as space-based lasers that can disable friendly satellites or hostile assets that can de-orbit them, according to Vandier. Europe can't ignore the Russian and Chinese military capabilities in space, and needs to think about the tools complementary to those of the U.S. to allow for maneuvers in space, he said. NATO is lacking in integrated air-missile defense, and 'we can't even say today that we are protecting our deployed soldiers satisfactorily,' while on critical capabilities to protect logistics and ammunition depots and command centers 'we are really struggling.' 'There is a considerable effort to be made, and I think NATO will be satisfied with any initiatives to fill the considerable gaps,' Vandier said.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
USS Harry S. Truman involved in Collison while in the Mediterranean Sea
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with another vessel while in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, according to U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, U.S. Sixth Fleet spokesperson. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was reported to be involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt. No injuries or flooding was reported. The propulsion plants were unaffected and remain in a safe and stable condition. The incident is under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US aircraft carrier collides with merchant vessel in Mediterranean Sea
(The Hill) – A U.S. aircraft carrier collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said Thursday. The collision occurred between the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and the merchant vessel Besiktas-M, according to U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The ships collided in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Gorman said. There were no reported injuries or flooding on the Navy aircraft carrier and its propulsion plants 'are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition,' Gorman said. The incident is currently under investigation, Gorman said, and officials will continue to release information as they learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US aircraft carrier collides with merchant vessel
A U.S. aircraft carrier collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said Thursday. The collision occurred between the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and the merchant vessel Besiktas-M, according to U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The ships collided in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Gorman said. There were no reported injuries or flooding on the Navy aircraft carrier and its propulsion plants 'are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition,' Gorman said. No injuries were reported on the merchant ship either, according to The Associated Press, which cited a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public. The incident is currently under investigation, Gorman said, and officials will continue to release information as they learn more. The Truman deployed to the Mediterranean and Middle East in September and just completed a port call in Souda Bay, Greece, the AP noted. Updated at 1:19 p.m. EST Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
