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US approves sale of 15 patrol boats to Kuwait
The US state department has approved the possible sale of 15 fast patrol boats to Kuwait under a contract worth an estimated $100 million. According to an announcement from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Kuwait government requested the sale of fifteen fast patrol boats outfitted wit
Fincantieri lays keel for Italian Navy’s new Landing Helicopter Dock ‘Trieste’
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a keel laying ceremony for the Italian Navy’s new landing helicopter dock (LHD) at its Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on February 20. Construction on the ship started with a steel cutting ceremony on July 12, 2017, and the delivery is expected for 2022. The shi
Russian task group enters Atlantic en route to Northern Fleet homeport
A Russian Navy task group returning from their deployment as part of the country’s permanent Mediterranean task force entered the Atlantic Ocean en route to their Northern Fleet homeport. Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovskiy, Vishnya-class intelligence ship Feodor Golovin and Altay-class
HMS Sutherland to join major Australian Navy fleet exercise Ocean Explorer
A fleet of Royal Australian Navy ships departed Fleet Base East in Garden Island, Sydney, on Tuesday to start exercise Ocean Explorer. Ocean Explorer will see two submarines, ten ships and embarked aircraft take part in war games off the east coast of Australia. They will be joined briefly by Royal
Dutch submarine HNLMS Walrus concludes Portsmouth visit
Royal Dutch Navy submarine HNLMS Walrus paid a weekend visit to Portsmouth, UK, becoming the first submarine in two years to visit the Royal Navy base. Walrus is on the return leg of her operational sea training which she is undergoing after completing a dry-dock maintenance in 2017. Prior to enteri
Cobra Gold: Underwater construction teams hone skills
Underwater construction teams from the US, Republic of Korea and Royal Thai navies got together on the Thung Prong Bay Sattahip Navy Base in Thailand as part of the 37th annual exercise Cobra Gold, which ends February 23. “We are here to perform underwater inspection techniques and also to talk abou
USS Carl Vinson wraps up Philippines visit
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson got underway from Manila on February 20, completing a four-day visit to the Philippines. More than 5,500 sailors from aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) arrived February 16 to visit local attrac
Airbus sets up maritime surveillance unit
European aeronautical major Airbus has re-organized its subsidiary SIGNALIS into the Maritime Surveillance Centre of Competences within the Airbus Defence and Space division. SIGNALIS was previously integrated into the Airbus CIS (Communications, Intelligence and Security) business and has been part
JFD acquires diving and recompression company Cowan Manufacturing
UK-based underwater technology company JFD announced it has acquired Australian diving and recompression company Cowan Manufacturing. The acquisition was carried through JFD’s parent company James Fisher and Sons plc. The acquisition of the Newcastle-based business is a significant step in JFD’s pla
Brazil’s purchase of HMS Ocean confirmed
The sale of Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean to the Brazilian Navy has been officially confirmed, UK media reported. The price was set at £84 million, according to the reports. The sale is to take place next month while the ship itself will sail to Brazil in the summer. Babcock and BAE System
US Navy awards design contracts for FFG(X) frigate
The US Navy has selected five contenders for its FFG(X) future frigate program and awarded them conceptual design contracts on February 16. The selected companies are Austal and Lockheed Martin with their adaptations of littoral combat ship designs, Huntington Ingalls Industries with its offshore pa
US Navy awards HII $1.4B contract to construct LPD 29
The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29. Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.
US Navy sends two destroyers to the Black Sea
The US Navy now has two guided-missile destroyers in the Black Sea after USS Carney transited the Bosphorus on February 18. Carney is joining sister ship USS Ross which entered the Black Sea on February 17. Recognizing the fact that having two destroyers in the Black Sea is not something the navy do
Royal Navy decommissions inshore survey vessel HMS Gleaner
The Royal Navy has decommissioned its smallest ship, the HMSML Gleaner, in a ceremony at Devonport Naval Base. Crewed by just eight sailors, Her Majesty’s Survey Motor Launch (HMSML) Gleaner spent 35 years in service with the Royal Navy. Since her commissioning in 1983, Gleaner has operated in the m