Navy ships and personnel assigned to Military Sealift Command transported Marine Corps combat equipment and supplies to Subic Bay in support of exercises Freedom Banner and Balikatan, March 21-26. Freedom Banner is an annual exercise held in conjunction with a large-scale exercise in the Pacific. Th
The New Zealand Navy’s first Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) boat was officially named TAKAPU in a formal ceremony at Opua on 27 March. The ceremony marked a major milestone in the project, which entails local company Northland Spars and Rigging delivering two new REA boats to increase the Navy
The amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) departed White Beach, Okinawa, to participate in the 29th annual Republic of the Philippines-U.S. Military exercise Balikatan. Balikatan is an annual Republic of the Philippines-U.S. military bilateral training exercise and humanitarian assistanc
Russia’s Amur-1650 Class Submarine Sparks Foreign Interest Foreign customers have shown high interest in Russia’s advanced Amur-1650 class submarine, state-run arms dealer Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. ”Of the nine countries that are planning to modernize or develop their submarine fleets…three
Spanish Armada ship ESPS Cantabria has berthed at Techport in Adelaide for an Easter port visit. ESPS Cantabria is currently operating with the Royal Australian Navy whilst on deployment to Australia in 2013. Cantabria’s deployment to Australia is enhancing interoperability between the Spanish Armad
Austal, the Australian-headquartered global leader specialising in the design, construction and maintenance of high-performance vessels for defence and commercial purposes, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Unithai Shipyard and Engineering, Thailand’s premier shipyard. The MOU stre
Lieutenant Commander John Sperring, a long-term resident at the Australian Hydrographic Office, celebrated 40 years in Australian Defence Force (ADF) service on 6th March 2013. Originally in the Army for 12 ½ years, John reached the rank of Warrant Officer, primarily in Army Intelligence but also se
The submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) arrived in the Republic of the Philippines for a scheduled port visit March 22. “Any chance we have to engage with our partners in the region is important,” said Capt. Pete Hildreth, Frank Cable’s commanding officer. “A good, productive relationship betwe
Families from Make-a-Wish Foundation visited Fleet Base West during ‘Wish Day’ on Friday 22 March 2013. The children and their families were able to experience and gain an insight into Navy life through visiting a number of units, watching demonstrations and talking to Navy personnel. Make-a-Wish Fo
Iran Begins Construction of Destroyer Jamaran 2 Iran began construction of destroyer Jamaran 2, reports news agency IRINN referring to Iranian Navy Commander ADM Habibollah Sayyari. He added that construction of the destroyer Jamaran 2 was conducted by own efforts under direction of Iranian experts.
The New Zealand Defence Force has confirmed that separate investigations into the death of a soldier who drowned during training in Waiouru are nearing completion. On 25 September, 2012, NZ Army soldier Private (PTE) Michael Victor Ross, aged 29 years, from Kaitaia, went missing while undertaking sm
Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) arrived in White Beach, Okinawa, after completing a 10-day certification exercise (CERTEX) with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the East China Sea March 21. CERTEX is a comprehensive, complex training evolution that combines the Navy and Mari
Sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) drill while underway off the coast of Okinawa March 15. NEO is the safe evacuation of American civilians and embassy o
Three Crew Members of US Navy EA-6B Prowler Jet Die in Aircraft Crash (UPDATE) All three crew members aboard a Navy EA-6B Prowler jet assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., were killed when the aircraft crashed Monday morning in an unpopulate
