US Navy and Marine Corps units are wrapping up two weeks of joint drills as part of exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 in and off the coast of Southern California. The scenario-driven field-training exercise kicked off March 12 and is set to conclude on Tuesday, March 26. The exercise involved command and
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster got underway from Portsmouth to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) for a deployment to northern Europe and the Baltic. The Duke-class frigate is scheduled to conduct exercises within her task group as well as a variety of port visits that wil
The Australian government has awarded Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia (SEDA) a contract for in-service support to the Royal Australian Navy’s infrared search and track systems. Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne said as the prime contractor, SEDA would provide maintenance and supp
US Navy ships from the Japan-based US 7th Fleet took part in what the navy termed the most advanced tactical training necessary for blue water combat. For the first time ever, three guided missile destroyers, a guided missile cruiser, and two amphibious ships of the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces com
The Royal Navy held an official naming ceremony for HMS Tamar, the fourth of overall five new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels being built. The OPV naming ceremony took place in the shipyard in Glasgow where she and her sisters were built. The 90-meter ship is equipped with a 30mm cannon
Ship from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG) 1 and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group One (SNMCMG) 1 completed a scheduled port visit to Plymouth, England, before taking part in an eight-ship maneuver off the UK coast. SNMG-1 and SNMCMG-1 staff took advantage of time in port by having forc
A joint French and British program to develop a new generation of anti-ship missiles has passed the “key review” phase, French missile maker MBDA has announced. The review was completed two years into the FC/ASW (future cruise/anti-ship weapon) concept phase, and was carried out jointly by the UK’s
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $2 billion contract modification to procure long lead time material to support construction of Block V Virginia-class submarines. The award modifies a contract awarded in 2017 that provides funding for long lead time mater
US Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf pulled into Sasebo, Japan, earlier this month after supporting the enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) sanctions on North Korea. Bertholf was tasked with preventing illicit ship-to-ship transfers that violate North Korea sanctions. The pa
US 5th Fleet’s Task Force 55 and commercial shipping industry representatives joined forces recently to complete exercise Lucky Mariner 19. The annual exercise concluded March 15 and was led by the task force’s Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) detachment designed to exercise comma
UK defense contractor BAE Systems announced it has started work on the integration of Meteor air-to-air and SPEAR surface attack missiles on to the UK’s fleet of F-35B fighter jets. As explained by the company, it has received an initial funding award from Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor on th
Spain could buy BAE Systems-built assault amphibious vehicles(AAV) following a US State Department approval for the possible sale of 11 AAVs to the European country. As outlined in the approval, announced on March 15, Spain is looking to buy 11 AAVs in three different configurations under a deal tha
US Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Devastator (MCM 6) experienced a fire aboard while it was pierside at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain on March 14. The navy said there were no personnel injuries, adding that the extent of the damage is being assessed. Sailors aboard Devastator, USS Sentry
US Navy’s Ohio-class cruise missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) arrived in Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, for a scheduled port visit on March 14. While the Kings Bay, Georgia, homeported USS Florida is on a routine deployment in the US 6th Fleet area of operations, it is rare for the
