Senior lawyers from the US Navy and the Royal Navy met at the stone frigate HMS Excellent for formal joint talks concerning aircraft carrier operations. With the Royal Navy on the cusp of returning to ‘big deck’ aircraft carrier operations when HMS Queen Elizabeth joins the fleet next year, it is ke
The U.S. Navy is currently modifying its Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) to make it capable of deploying the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Scheduled to be completed in March 2017, Essex will be the third big-deck platform to feature the upgrades and will be the first to do a
U.S. Navy’s helicopter mine countermeasures squadron (HM) 15 carried out annual airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) training at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) for almost two weeks earlier in October. HM-15’s annual helicopter advanced readiness program (HARP) HAWKEX t
The U.S. Navy has awarded Austal USA a contract to provide engineering and management services support of the Post Shakedown Availability for the Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). The US$12 million cost-plus-award-fee order is seen as a boost to the company
U.S. Navy’s Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) arrived in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, for a scheduled port visit, October 16. Germantown and the embarked Combat Logistics Battalion of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Sihanoukville after completi
Rolls-Royce announced that it has signed a contract to supply diesel generators, propellers and shaft lines for the U.S. Navy’s new fleet replenishment oiler ships, the John Lewis-class. With a total of 17 ships to be built, the new John Lewis class (previously known as TAO – X) is designed to incre
Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean visited the Egyptian port of Alexandria last weekend, thereby becoming the first UK warship to visit Egypt in over eight years. HMS Ocean visited Egypt as part of Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) 16 and will carry out exercises with partner nations
Amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) left the coast of Haiti October 13 after providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support for the island as part of Joint Task Force (JTF) Matthew. Mesa Verde’s role in the JTF was to support the United States Agency for International De
French defense technology company Thales has unveiled its upgraded NS200 dual-axis multi-beam radar at the Euronaval expo in Paris, France. According to Thales, the new radar is suited for naval platforms up to destroyers and provides a range of 400 kilometers. The new AESA-based sensor system is th
Spanish Navy light transport ship Martín Posadillo has returned from the Spanish missions in Lebanon where it was tasked with providing logistic support. Apart from UNIFIL operations ‘Libre Hidalgo’ and ‘Active Fence’, Martín Posadillo also contributed to the EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia. The ship
The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a five-year contract potentially worth $52 million to provide essential maintenance and testing support for various air traffic control and landing systems. These systems provide Navy pilots with electronic guidance to help them land safely on the ground and at
The Australian Department of Defence and Boeing Defence Australia have signed a contract for the next four years of sustainment for the Australian next generation of maritime patrol and response aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon. Australia plans to operate a total of 15 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. 12 P-8A Mar
UK’s Babcock International Group announced Thursday that it has been awarded a contract from General Dynamics Electric Boat to support the manufacturing of 22 tactical missile tube assemblies for the UK Successor and US Ohio-class replacement submarine programmes. The work is part of the second phas
European naval ships and personnel spent the last two weeks honing their amphibious assault skills during the Italian-hosted Emerald Move 2016 which concluded today. Emerald Move is organized by the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI) while the Italian Navy was in command of the 2016 edition of the
