The US Navy’s 34th littoral combat ship will be named USS Augusta (LCS 34), Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced on Thursday. The Independence-variant LCS is named in honor of the capital city of Maine, and is the sixth vessel to bear the name Augusta. “It is an honor to name the next
Estonian Navy minehunter EML Admiral Cowan received a series of upgrades during a dry dock period in Fife, Scotland, Babcock International – the company in charge of the upgrades announced. Admiral Cowan is the Estonian Navy flagship and the first of three Estonian Navy minehunter vessels scheduled
Just weeks after Royal Navy support ship RFA Mounts Bay embarked US Coast Guard personnel for counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, the team found their first contraband. The Bay-class ship embarked a Dolphin helicopter from the US Coast Guard’s HITRON – Helicopter Interdiction Tactical squ
Maritime patrol squadrons from the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force met up for a coordinated maritime patrol operational procedures (CMPOP) exercise in Okinawa, Japan, recently. US Navy’s “Golden Swordsmen” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 were joined by JMSDF’s Fleet Air Wing (FAW) 5 for
The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $55 million contract to deliver an additional five Fire Scout MQ-8C unmanned air systems and two lightweight fuel cells. The company is expected to complete work on the contract by August 2021. The MQ-8C is the larger of two Fir
CP Technologies (formerly known as Chassis Plans) announced it has been awarded a contract to modernize and update the mission control computers in the P3B Orion aircraft used by the Hellenic Navy and Air Force. The contract was awarded to CP Technologies last year and was prototyped in 12 weeks. CP
The French defense procurement agency “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA) on January 30 signed a €1.7 billion contract for the procurement of four new Logistic Support Ships (LSS) for the French Navy as part of the country’s FLOTLOG (Flotte logistique) program. The contract signing comes three
The US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the development of an undersea autonomous system that can navigate to and physically manipulate objects on the sea floor. The autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles are to be developed as part of th
Energy solutions provider AMSC announced it has been contracted to deliver a high temperature superconductor (HTS) based ship protection system (SPS) for the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28). This contract follows a long lead order from the US Navy for a ship prot
German Navy’s sail training ship Gorch Fock is likely to return to sea despite a massive increase in repair costs and the fact that it has spent over three years in the docks at Elsflether Werft. The cost overruns led to an investigation which resulted in the shipyard’s management being laid off. Th
The US Navy is scheduled to commission fast attack submarine USS South Dakota (SSN 790) in a ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, on Saturday, February 2. The principal speaker will be US Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota. The submarine’s sponsor is Mrs. Deanie Demps
The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on January 28 issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the procurement of new TH-XX helicopter training aircraft. The new TH-XX aircraft will replace the TH-57B/C aircraft currently used by the US Navy for advanced helicopter training for undergraduate pilot
The Indian defense ministry has signed a contract with M/S Goa Shipyard Limited for the construction of two additional Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy. The contract for the two locally-built frigates follows an agreement between India and Russia from October 2018 under which two Project 1
The US Navy is set to retire its last F/A-18C Hornet fighters in a final flight ceremony at Naval Air Station Oceana on February 1. The final single-seat, twin-engine, carrier-capable legacy Hornets are still operational with Strike Fighter Squadron 34 and the “Blue Blasters” are the only squadron f
