The US Navy’s 36th littoral combat ship will be named USS Kingsville (LCS 36) in honor of the city of Kingsville, Texas, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer has announced. The Independence-variant is the first US Navy ship to bear the name. “I am pleased to name a future Independence-variant LC
A new High-G training and test facility used by fast jet pilots in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to replicate flight in aircraft was opened at RAF Cranwell on February 4. Developed under a £44m project, the facility will allow pilots to experience up to 9G – nine times the normal gravitational
After becoming the first Royal Navy ship to visit Auckland, New Zealand, in 20 years, Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose visited Darwin, Australia. Continuing a trend, the frigate became the first Royal Navy warship in a decade to visit Australia’s northernmost and remotest city. The Plymouth-based warshi
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems says it has received a contract from Advanced Technology International (ATI) to develop and demonstrate a prototype Lithium-ion Fault Tolerant (LiFT) battery system for the US Navy’s prototype “Snakehead” Large-Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV). T
The Canadian government has awarded General Dynamics Misssion Systems a CAD186 million contract for upgrades and maintenance of underwater sensors on Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates. The majority of this work will occur in Canada, creating and maintaining about 120 highly skilled jobs w
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat has seized more than 2.1 tonnes of hashish and 345 kilograms of heroin in two boarding operations in the Arabian Sea. The Australian Navy said the seizures were worth approximately AU$105 million and AU$103.5 million respectively. The interceptions took pl
The UK defense ministry has awarded defense contractor Babcock International a configuration management contract for the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) surface ship fleet. Supported by Allan Webb Ltd, who will provide specialist data interrogation skills, Babcock will assume res
German-based technology company Atlas is offering a set of mine countermeasures (MCM) systems for a new class of minehunters that are to be built for the Belgian and Dutch Navy. The current minehunters operated by Belgium and the Netherlands were integrated by Atlas Elektronik and are equipped with
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1) are on a scheduled port visit in Bergen where thy are finalizing planning for Allied Maritime Command led exercise Dynamic Guard 19-1. Hosted by Norway, Dynamic Guard is a multi-national exercise, merged with Norwegian led exercise TG 19-1 and ai
Just weeks after Royal Navy support ship RFA Mounts Bay embarked US Coast Guard personnel for counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, the team found their first contraband. The Bay-class ship embarked a Dolphin helicopter from the US Coast Guard’s HITRON – Helicopter Interdiction Tactical squ
Maritime patrol squadrons from the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force met up for a coordinated maritime patrol operational procedures (CMPOP) exercise in Okinawa, Japan, recently. US Navy’s “Golden Swordsmen” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 were joined by JMSDF’s Fleet Air Wing (FAW) 5 for
The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $55 million contract to deliver an additional five Fire Scout MQ-8C unmanned air systems and two lightweight fuel cells. The company is expected to complete work on the contract by August 2021. The MQ-8C is the larger of two Fir
CP Technologies (formerly known as Chassis Plans) announced it has been awarded a contract to modernize and update the mission control computers in the P3B Orion aircraft used by the Hellenic Navy and Air Force. The contract was awarded to CP Technologies last year and was prototyped in 12 weeks. CP
The French defense procurement agency “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA) on January 30 signed a €1.7 billion contract for the procurement of four new Logistic Support Ships (LSS) for the French Navy as part of the country’s FLOTLOG (Flotte logistique) program. The contract signing comes three