It has been 102 days since Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine. Despite tensions rising, NATO began naval exercises in the Baltic Sea along with aspiring members Finland and Sweden. Spain and the U.K. promised Kyiv weaponry with Russian President Vladimir Putin retaliating with a warning that Moscow would hit new targets if it continued.
Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) and US Sixth Fleet (SIXTHFLT) concluded the NATO-led Neptune Shield 2022 (NESH22) from STRIKFORNATO’s Joint Operations Centre in Oeiras, Portugal featuring several "first-ever" events.
A Freedom-class littoral combat ship that was put on the chopping block in the Navy’s most recent budget proposal has deployed to the US 6th Fleet area of operations, a theater where the vessels never have operated before.