French Navy’s sole aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle has entered the water again after spending over 14 months in the dry dock as part of her mid-life upgrade. The aircraft carrier was refloated at the Toulon navy base on May 16 after entering the dry dock on February 8, 2017. FS Charles de Gaul
The French Navy frigate La Fayette seized 260 kg of heroin when interdicting a “suspicious dhow” in the Red Sea on May 11. It is her third seizure of narcotics in less than a month, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) said. In an operation coordinated by Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), Marine Nati
Royal Australian Navy ships have arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia, to take part in the French-led disaster response exercise Croix du Sud. Amphibious landing ship HMAS Choules and Coastal Mine Hunters HMAS Gascoyne and Yarra will join French and Royal New Zealand Navy ships for the exercise which is
The US-led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief readiness exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 arrived in Vietnam as personnel aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in Nha Trang on May 17. This year’s Pacific Partnership mission in Nha Trang will be joined by personnel from the J
The Peruvian state-owned shipyard SIMA has awarded French defense contractor ECA Group a contract related to the overhaul of the Peruvian Navy’s four Type 209/1200 submarine. As announced by the French company, the contract is for the delivery of 16 units of static converters to be fitted on the ves
Navantia Australia on April 27 opened its first international office in Singapore, the company said in an announcement on May 17. The company further said that it would now be managing the Asia Pacific operations for the Navantia group which is one of three bidders in the Royal Australian Navy’s Fut
The UK defense ministry has issued a tender for the acquisition of Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships which will be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Compared to the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review which confirmed the need for three Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Fleet
A keel-laying ceremony at Russia’s Vympel Shipyard on May 15 marked the construction start of the first of four new Project 21980 (Grachonok-class) anti-terror vessels. The vessels are being constructed under a 2017 contract, signed between Vympel and the National Guard of the Russian Federation. Al
Two Royal Navy Merlin Mk2 helicopters have returned home after two weeks of anti submarine warfare drills in the Norwegian Fjords as part of exercise Rogue Wizards 2018. The helicopters were flown by ‘Flying Sailors’ from the Merlin Training Squadron at RNAS Culdrose. 824 NAS is the unit which train
US Military Sealift Command operated ships USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) met with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver while underway in Asia Pacific, on May 15. While it was not stated, the exercise likely took place in the South China Sea as hospital ship USNS Mercy d
The first Royal Navy and Air Force F-35B jets are scheduled to fly into their new home at RAF Marham next month, the UK defense minister has announced. Four F-35Bs will arrive in the first tranche of stealth fighters to transfer from the USA to the UK, flying into RAF Marham in East Anglia. The Norf
The US Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $23.1 million contract for follow-on production of enhanced laser guided training rounds (ELGTRs) to support the service’s Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) weapons training. The award exercises the initial option of the contract negotiated in 2017 and exte
US Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has sent a letter to the US Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for the prompt retesting of areas of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard subject to massive potential manipulation and falsification of data. Pelosi also requested the retesti
Australian government’s $89 billion program to develop new ships and submarines carries a high to extreme level of risk, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warned in its recent audit. The shipbuilding program for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) encompasses new submarines, major surface comb
