Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO laid the keel for the US Navy’s future USNS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) at a ceremony in San Diego on January 30. A keel laying is the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction. It is the joining together of a ship’s modular components and the authenticati
Navantia Australia announced it has teamed with Tasmanian firm Taylor Bros for work on the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigates. Navantia embedded a Taylor Bros team into its design and production teams for the SEA 5000 program creating the “Integrated Product Team” which the company said will “i
Finnish Navy’s Hamina-class missile boats will be receiving new Bofors 40 Mk4 naval guns delivered by BAE Systems under a contract with Finland’s Patria. Patria is the prime contractor selected by Finland’s defense ministry to coordinate the missile boat upgrades. “Finland is the third country to se
US Navy ships assigned to the Carl Vinson carrier strike group arrived in Guam on January 30 and 31 for the first port call of their Western Pacific deployment. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) a
A former US Navy commander pleaded guilty to bribery charges on Tuesday, becoming the latest official to do so in an unprecedented bribery case that has engulfed the navy. Troy Amundson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, admitting that he conspired with Singapore-based defe
The US Navy Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility has awarded BAE Systems Hawaii, Honolulu, a $14.1 million contract for repair works on the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Port Royal (CG73). This modification follows an earlier one, worth $24 million, awarded to the compan
Royal Canadian Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessel Asterix has entered service after completing sea trials and testing. Asterix performed daily replenishment-at-sea (RAS) exercises with the RCN and conducted extensive RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter operations to prove and demonstrate its
Warships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) will enter the Black Sea to join their mine countermeasure countermeasure counterparts already operating in the region. After SNMG2 ships from the UK and Turkey enter the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, they are scheduled to join Standing NATO
A Russian SU-27 fighter aircraft came within 5 feet of a US Navy EP-3 signals reconnaissance aircraft during an intercept over the Black Sea on January 29, the US state department said. The event took place in international airspace, US Naval Forces Europe confirmed adding that the Russian aircraft
UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has awarded QinetiQ a contract under which the company is to lead a new collaborative enterprise that will simplify maritime research and development for the UK defense ministry. Under the Progeny Maritime Research Framework contract, QinetiQ wil
Royal Canadian Navy coastal defense vessels HMCS Summerside and HMCS Kingston got underway from Halifax on January 26, starting a deployment to West Africa. The two Kingston-class ships will foster relationships with partner navies and take part in exercise Obangame Express 2018, in the Gulf of Guin
Two European frigates, one from Norway and the other from Germany, arrived at Norfolk naval base Jan. 26 and 28 to join the US Navy carrier strike group assembled around aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F 311) and Sachsen-class German frigate H
HMCS Sackville, Canada’s oldest warship and the sole remaining Flower-class corvette, is set to undergo much needed reparations after a CAD$3.5 million contract was announced by the Canadian government this week. The funds are awarded to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust for extensive repairs of the
Ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) under command of Commander Peter Ramboer of the Belgian Navy arrived in Hull, UK on January 26. The group made a routine port visit to Hull as part of their annual schedule of operations. While in Hull, officers made courtesy
