Two Royal Navy Merlins have embarked French amphibious assault ship FS Mistral, the lead ship of French Navy task group, for the French annual Jeanne d’Arc deployment. The five-month amphibious deployment will take the force – which includes the frigate Courbet – as far east as Japan and Guam, as fa
USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship, departed Sasebo, Japan for a regularly-scheduled patrol in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility on February 27. Bonhomme Richard is scheduled to finalize shipboard certifications and conduct joint force operation
In a new aviation milestone, Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Canberra will be embarking two Army Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters for the first time. The two Tigers, will join two MRH-90 Taipan medium lift helicopters and one MH-60R Seahawk conducting first of class flight trials onboard the amph
Warships from New Zealand, Spain and Italy will all be joining Royal Australian Navy ships for one of Australia’s largest maritime warfare exercises. More than 17 ships and aircraft are gathering on the Western Australian coast for the inaugural exercise Ocean Explorer. The Spanish Armada’s ESPS Cri
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) concluded an independent deployment to the Arabian Gulf, western Pacific, and Indian Ocean and returned to Pearl Harbor on February 21. Hopper spent 180 days forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets, with more than 3
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20), with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Sattahip, Thailand for a port visit, on February 10th. The visit is meant to strengthen Thailand and the United States relations as the two treaty allies work toward a sec
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has launched a moored wave buoy which will help study gigantic Southern Ocean waves described as “liquid Himalayas”. Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago launched the wave buoy about 10 kilometres south of remote Campbell Island, the furthest south such a device ha
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra loaded Project Land 400 contenders for a round of trials late last year. The Land 400 project will acquire and support the next generation of armored fighting vehicles which will be required to perform up to seven different combat roles, co
The Royal Australian Navy has awarded Austrian UAV developer Schiebel a contract for the supply of its Camcopter S-100 system and three years of follow-on contractor logistics support. The contract was signed at the end of December 2016, but the company announced it on February 6, 2017. The Royal Au
During her port call in Adelaide, Italian FREMM frigate ITS Carabiniere welcomed the Australian minister for defense Christopher Pyne on board on February 5. Pyne toured the Italian frigate ITS Carabiniere as it visited South Australia on a four-month deployment to the Asia-Pacific to support naval
Navy ships from Australia, Great Britain, France and the U.S. concluded their participation in the multi-national exercise Unified Trident that was held in the Persian Gulf. More than 15 ships, plus numerous aircraft from the four navies completed many different evolutions from January 31 to Februar
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) entered the Black Sea on February 2 on a routine Black Sea deployment. On her first Black Sea port visit, USS Porter arrived in Constanta, Romania, on February 3. “It’s always a privilege to visit the welcoming city of Cons
Thales Australia has been awarded a contract for in service support of Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale-class patrol boats. The contract is potentially worth over AU$55 million per annum and will start on July 1, 2017. The five-year contract contains possible rolling-wave term extensions out to at l
A New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) offshore patrol vessel is transporting staff and supplies to the remote Campbell Island, in the sub-Antarctic region. The OPV is carrying more than seven tonnes of timber and equipment to the islands that is home to six species of albatross and the world’s rarest d
