The large French naval reconnaissance ship Dupuy de Lome and the high-speed USNS Yuma amphibious assault ship have left the Black Sea, Istanbul news portals reported.
A French reconnaissance ship that entered the Black Sea nine days ago was in the region amid the Russian strategic military exercises Kavkaz 2020. According to open sources, the Dupuy de Lome ship is used for electronic reconnaissance in the interests of the French Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM).
USNS Yuma, an amphibious assault ship that entered the Black Sea on September 16, reportedly brought the first batch of American Patriot missile defense systems to Romania.
At the end of August, the first components of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems were already delivered to Romania. As part of a contract signed in 2017 with the American companies Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin, Romania should receive seven Patriot air defense systems in the PAC-3 configuration. The total deal is estimated at $3.9 billion.
Romania has become the second country in Eastern Europe after Poland that currently has such missile defense systems.
After Romania, the American ship also called at the Georgian port of Batumi.
The missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) and the British Royal Navy’s reconnaissance ship HMS Enterprise, which entered the Black Sea in September, are currently in the Black Sea.
