Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to get underway from HMNB Portsmouth on Saturday for her first-of-class F-35B flight trials. The deployment is dubbed Westlant 18 and will see the carrier spend four months off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with the aim of deve
Forward-deployed ships from the US Navy’s Ronald Reagan carrier strike group (CSG) started bilateral training with Japan Maritime Self Defense destroyer JS Kirishima on August 14. The exercise is also joined by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) personnel from the Commander, Escort Division (
US Navy and Coast Guard personnel wrapped up a trilateral exercise with the navies of Iraq and Kuwait in the Northern Persian Gulf. The exercise concluded August 15 and focused on improving collective proficiency in maritime security tactics between the three nations and ensuring the freedom of navi
The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet corvette Vyshny Volochyok transited the Bosphorus on August 16 to start her first Mediterranean Sea deployment. The Buyan-M class vessel is starting the deployment after entering service in May this year and becoming the first corvette in its class to join the Blac
Australia’s future P-8A Poseidon pilots are set to benefit from a new simulator and training systems facility at RAAF Base Edinburgh after it was officially handed over to the defense department on August 17. Australian defense minister Marise Payne said the advanced P-8A training system would bette
The Royal Netherlands Navy offshore patrol vessel HNLMS Friesland has seized 406 kilos of cocaine from a vessel in a joint operation with the Sint Maarten coast guard. The drugs were seized on Thursday after a suspect vessel was spotted by Friesland’s NH90 helicopter. According to the Dutch Navy, th
After halting a competition for the construction of five Type 31 frigates late July, the UK defense ministry has now relaunched the process. The program was halted on July 24 due to what the defense ministry identified as inadequate competition prior to awarding competitive design phase (CDP) contra
The UK Royal Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force are scheduled to conduct their first joint amphibious exercise in Japanese waters next week. Taking place on August 23 and 24, the exercise will be spearheaded by Royal Navy amphibious assault ship HMS Albion and the JMSDF tank landing ship
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced it has received a contract to deliver its Barak-8 missile system for Israel Navy’s Sa’ar-6 corvettes. The contract was led by the navy, Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the procurement administration in Israel’s defense ministry.
US Navy personnel from the Undersea Rescue Command joined the Chilean Navy diesel-electric submarine CS Simpson (SS 21) for submarine rescue drills as part of exercise CHILEMAR VIII. US Navy sailors searched for the Chilean submarine using the Sibitzky remotely operated vehicle and conducted a perso
A team of researchers has found the wreck of US Navy destroyer USS Abner Read on the bottom of the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island of Kiska, where it sank after being torn off by an explosion while conducting an anti-submarine patrol. Seventy-one US Navy sailors were lost in the aftermath of the
The US Navy’s Blue Angels, the famous flight demonstration squadron, are set to receive a new squadron of Super Hornet aircraft following a defense department contract announcement on August 13. The Super Hornets, nine F/A-18E and two F/A-18F, are scheduled to replace the F/A-18C/D Hornets currently
The final of four Royal Navy Tide-class tankers – RFA Tideforce – has arrived in Cornwall, UK, where it will now undergo military customization and armament before starting sea trials. Customisation work, including the installation of communications equipment and defensive systems, will be performed
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) a $147.6 million contract for work on the modernization of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63). This is a “long-term” availability which will include a combination of m
