A US Navy test aircraft on April 11 performed the final developmental test flight of the F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, marking the end of “the most comprehensive, rigorous and the safest developmental flight test program in aviation history.” “Completing F-35 SDD flight test
US Navy littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9) finally reached her homeport in Mayport, Florida, after spending over three months in Montreal, Canada, trapped by ice. The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship reached its homeport on April 12, for the first time since she was commissioned on Dec
US Navy’s Harpers Ferry-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) arrived in Victoria, British Columbia on April 12, for a scheduled port visit. “This visit helps to demonstrate the continuing commitment the US has to our long-standing and important relationship with Canada,” said
US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries said on Wednesday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division plans to reactivate its shipbuilding facilities on the east bank of the Pascagoula River. The site of the original Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., founded in 1938, was decimated by Hurricane Katrina in
US Navy’s Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed Bengkulu on April 10 concluding their Pacific Partnership stop in Indonesia. “I’d like to thank the residents of Bengkulu for their hospitality. I have found that they are some of the most engaging and friendly people I h
Defense technology companies Lockheed Martin and Cobham announced they are joining forces to bid for the US Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) program to replace the current ALQ-99 tactical jamming system currently on the E/A-18 Growler aircraft. The NGJ-LB system will be integrated on
The US Navy is considering an acquisition of the full fleet of new presidential helicopters, Marine Corps program manager for the VH-92 program Col. Eric J. Ropella disclosed at the 2018 Sea Air Space Exposition, April 9. The news comes four years into a $1.2 billion contract for the new VH-92 presi
US Navy ships from the Wasp expeditionary strike group met up with Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) amphibious transport dock JS Shimokita (LST 4002) in the East China Sea on April 9 for bilateral maneuvers. The US Navy has shared photos of the navigational maneuvers which were held to “dem
The Canadian government is starting to invest in defense research which will improve subsea surveillance solutions for its Arctic regions. On April 6, the government announced it has awarded a contract to Cellula Robotics to develop a fuel cell that would boost the ability for autonomous underwater
The US Military Sealift Command ship USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) arrived in Guatemala with a team of 250 navy and army service members for the second mission stop of the civil-military operation Continuing Promise 2018. The ship entered Puerto Barrios on April 5 while an opening ceremony was held at Co
US Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane has seized approximately 7.8 tons of cocaine during its three-month stint in the Eastern Pacific. The ship wrapped up its patrols and returned to homeport on April 8. The drugs were seized from nine suspected drug smuggling vessels and are valued at more than $260
US Navy and Marine Corps have cancelled the Alligator Dagger amphibious drill taking place off Djibouti after two back-to-back aircraft crashes. In addition to halting Alligator Dagger maneuvers, the US Naval Forces Central Command also cancelled all air operations in Djibouti after two separate avi
US Navy ships from the Essex amphibious ready group (ARG) have completed the first series of integration exercises with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) during amphibious squadron (PHIBRON)-MEU Integrated Training (PMINT) off the coast of Southern California. Participating units honed their abil
Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade has begun a two-week amphibious training event in international waters off the African coast of Djibouti, the US Department of Defense said. As explained, Alligator Dagger is the largest regional amphibious combat rehearsal to in
