US shipbuilder Ingalls Shipbuilding held a keel-laying ceremony for the US Navy’s third America-class amphibious warship Bougainville (LHA 8) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on March 14. Ship’s sponsor Ellyn Dunford declared the keel “truly and fairly laid” after her initials were welded onto a plate. T
Scotland is set to host 35 warships, 5 submarines and 59 aircraft and helicopters from 13 countries for this year’s edition of exercise Joint Warrior which is starting on March 30. More than 10,000 military personnel from the UK’s Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and their allies will carry out two
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana has arrived in Canada to start her combat management system upgrades. The ship pulled into Canadian forces base Esquimalt on March 12 and will be modernized at Seaspan’s shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia. Te Mana is starting the upgrade after complet
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) returned to Naval Station Rota, Spain, after completing its eighth forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) patrol of Europe and Africa. Donald Cook began its patrol Nov. 17, 2018 to conduct naval operations in the US 6th Fl
The Secretary of the US Navy Richard V. Spencer on Tuesday announced the name of the new class of towing, salvage, and rescue ship currently being built for the navy. The first of the new class of ships will be named USNS Navajo in honor of the major contributions the Navajo people have made to [&he
Assets from the navies of Japan, the UK and US are scheduled top take part in their second trilateral exercise later this week. The inaugural Asia Pacific exercise took place in December 2018. The drill will take place in the Western Pacific and is scheduled for kick off on March 14. Japan will be r
Royal Navy’s Type 23 Frigate HMS Montrose arrived in Japan on March 8, becoming the fourth Royal Navy ship to visit the country in a year. HMS Montrose pulled into Tokyo for a six-day stay at Harumi Wharf before starting exercises with Japan’s Maritime Self Defence Force and the US Navy’s Seventh Fl
The US Navy has established a new entity that will oversee the construction and fielding of the 12 Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The establishment of Program Executive Office Columbia (PEO CLB) was announced on March 6 as the navy’s number one acquisition priority. “This is the Navy’s
The search for the Royal Australian Navy’s sunken World War II destroyer HMAS Vampire is underway off the coast of Sri Lanka, with the navies of both countries contributing hydrographic assets to the cause. Nine sailors died when the destroyer HMAS Vampire sank after enduring an intensive Japanese a
Italian shipbuilder Cantiere Navale Vittoria has awarded Rolls-Royce a contract for the supply of a marine propulsion package for the new offshore patrol vessel being built for the Armed Forces of Malta. The 1800-ton, 74.8-meter, twin-screw vessel will get a pair of PROMAS controllable pitch propell
The US needs more surface vessels and anti-submarine warfare assets in Europe to counter evolving threats in the region.
The Royal Australian Navy has contracted the Australian branch of Phoenix International for the delivery of a new air transportable submarine rescue service capability. As announced by the Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne, the service will be based in Western Australia and support both t
The annual disaster response preparedness exercise Pacific Partnership began March 4 as US Military Sealift Command (MSC) expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) got underway from Naval Base Guam to start the mission in Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual, mult
Italian shipbuilder Cantiere Navale Vittoria has awarded Israeli defense company Elbit Systems a contract to supply combat suites and perform systems integration for the three new Hellenic Coast Guard patrol vessels. The three boats are built by Cantiere Navale Vittoria under a contract announced in