Future USS Sioux City will become the first US Navy ship ever to be commissioned at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as she enters service in a ceremony on Saturday, November 17. The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) is also the first naval vessel to be named in honor
The Royal Bahrain Naval Service received its second upgraded Al Manama-class combatant at Royal Bahrain Navy headquarters in Mina Salman on November 15. The RBNS Al Muharraq was delivered by Italian defense contractor Leonardo under a six-vessel upgrade contract signed in 2015. The upgrades include
The US Navy has accepted delivery of its tenth Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF 10) – the future USNS Burlington – from Austal USA. The vessel was delivered in a ceremony on November 15. Burlington was delivered as part of a US$1.9 billion contract for 12 vessels and is the fourth ship Austal has d
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne has wrapped up six months of operations in the Pacific and Nort East Asian regions and has returned to her homeport at Garden Island Sydney. According to the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Marcus Buttler, the deployment was a great success as the sh
US Navy ships from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Carrier Strike Group (CSG), along with other Norfolk-based cruiser-destroyer (CRUDES) units, completed a “Live Fire With A Purpose” (LFWAP) missile exercise (MSLEX) off the East Coast earlier this month. As explained by the navy, the LFWAP program
The Royal Navy has reestablished the 744 Naval Air Squadron which will be responsible for introducing the Navy’s Crowsnest Merlin radar over the next 18 months. The Fleet Air Arm Squadron will also be responsible for the RAF’s upgraded Chinook Mk5s and Mk6s. Pooling 15 of the best aircrew and aviati
The Polish Navy’s 95-meter offshore patrol vessel ORP Slazak got underway from Gdynia to start her first sea trials, 17 years after construction on the ship got underway. The Polish Navy hopes to receive the vessel by March 2019 when acceptance trials are expected to be completed and the vessel hand
The MBDA-developed Marte ER anti-ship missile has successfully completed its first firing, the French company has said. The missile passed this major phase in its development in a trial that was carried out on November 9 in an Italian test range. According to MBDA, the Marte ER missile flew for more
A new class of Royal Australian Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPV) officially started construction in a ceremony in Adelaide on November 15. Deputy Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond, joined staff from Navy’s Construction Branch in Adelaide today to see the welding of the first two component b
A major submarine escape and rescue exercise hosted by Italy concluded in the Gulf of Taranto on November 8. In addition to two submarines and multiple ships, the exercise was attended by International Submarine Escape & Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) based in Northwood, United Kingdom. Greek subma
Mine countermeasure ships from the navies of the US and Japan will be joined by their Australian counterparts for a mine warfare exercise off the coast of southern Japan which kicks off November 17. The drill is called Mine Warfare Exercise 3JA 2018 and is part of an annual exercise series organized
US Navy’s amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25) got underway from her San Diego homeport on November 12 en route to Peru where she will join the Peruvian Navy’s new landing platform dock ship B.A.P. Pisco for exercises. Somerset and Pisco will carry out joint simulation exercises for
The UK defense ministry announced it has ordered an additional 17 F-35 stealth jets, doubling the total number of aircraft ordered. The 17 new F-35B aircraft will be delivered between 2020 and 2022 and will complement the 16 British aircraft currently based at RAF Marham and in the US, as well as tw
US Navy aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS John C. Stennis have kicked off high-end dual carrier operations in the Philippine Sea. Approximately 150 aircraft, 10 ships and 12,600 personnel from the two carrier strike groups will execute complex air, surface and anti-submarine warfare operat
