RFA Tideforce, the final of four Tide-class tankers being built for the UK in South Korea, was named on January 24 in a ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea. The ceremony was attended by Royal Marine General Gordon Messenger, British ambassador to Republic
Ships from the US Navy’s America Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on January 22 and 23. This will be the group’s final port call as they complete their maiden seven-month deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Horn of Africa, Mediterranean, and Middle Eas
US Coast Guard’s high endurance cutter Sherman (WHEC 720) returned from its final deployment on January 23, completing a 76-day patrol in the Bering Sea. The deployment was Sherman’s last one before it decommissions in March this year after nearly 50 years of service. The cutter is scheduled to be d
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer UMS SKELDAR has joined the European Defence Fund’s OCEAN2020 autonomous systems project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV, the company announced on January 22. UMS SKELDAR is joining the naval surveillance technology project alongside its partner Saab. OCEAN2020 is t
Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding SA has laid the keel for the first of six tugs to be built for the Polish Navy under a contract signed in June 2017. The first tug, bearing pennant number 860/1, started construction in November 2017 when the first steel was cut. The tugs will be used for po
Expeditionary Sea Base ship USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams (T-ESB 4) has completed its first integrated trials, the US Naval Sea Systems Command announced. T-ESB 4 got underway Jan. 19, sailing from and returning to General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego.
US Navy submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) returned to her Guam homeport on January 23 after completing an eight-month overhaul in Portland, Oregon. Frank Cable, which departed Guam March 6, 2017, completed maintenance, renewal and repairs at Vigor Marine’s shipyard which returned the 40 year-
The Royal Bahrain Naval Force received its first upgraded Al-Manama class guided-missile patrol combatant in a ceremony on January 22 at the main navy base in Mina Salman. The FPB 62 patrol combatant was delivered by Italian defense company Leonardo after the company was awarded a modernization cont
German Navy frigate FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has completed a six-month deployment to the EU-led migrant-rescue operation Sophia and is currently on her way home. The F123 frigate has departed the Mediterranean Sea and is scheduled to enter her homeport in Wilhelmshaven on January 26. During her ti
Three days after the arrival of future littoral combat ship USS Omaha, naval base San Diego welcomed the future amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) to its new homeport on January 22. Portland’s arrival to her Southern California homeport concluded a six-week transit from her buildin
The Spanish Navy-operated polar research ship B.I.O. Hespérides has started the second phase of the 31st Spanish Antarctic Campaign after a three and a half-month voyage from her homeport in Cartagena. After making port calls in Mar de Plata and Ushuaia, the ship proceeded towards the Antarctic cont
The US Navy has ordered four additional Mk 45 naval guns to be delivered by BAE Systems under a $46.8 million contract option. The contract modification calls for upgrading existing guns to the Mod 4 configuration to increase the firepower and extend the range of the weapons. According to BAE System
US Navy’s forward-deployed command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) completed her dry dock maintenance, undocking and mooring pierside at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on January 21. Blue Ridge is the oldest operational US Navy ship and this dry-docking period extended her life by approximately 20-plus year
The US Navy’s Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group has completed the fleet synthetic training – group commander (FST-GC) exercise on January 19, clearing another hurdle before starting the final pre-deployment exercise – Comptuex. In addition to FST-GC, Harry S. Truman sailors completed the force pr
