The US Navy has selected five contenders for its FFG(X) future frigate program and awarded them conceptual design contracts on February 16. The selected companies are Austal and Lockheed Martin with their adaptations of littoral combat ship designs, Huntington Ingalls Industries with its offshore pa
The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29. Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.
The US Navy now has two guided-missile destroyers in the Black Sea after USS Carney transited the Bosphorus on February 18. Carney is joining sister ship USS Ross which entered the Black Sea on February 17. Recognizing the fact that having two destroyers in the Black Sea is not something the navy do
Ships and personnel from the navies of Oman, UK, France and US concluded the international exercise Khunjar Haad in the Gulf of Oman on February 8. Overall 11 vessels, including US Coast Guard ships, took part in the exercise. Khunjar Haad featured a variety of evolutions consisting of air-defense,
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has delivered the first battery shipset for the US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) new dry combat submersible (DCS). The long endurance delivery vehicle capable of transporting personnel in a dry environment will use Lithium-ion Fault Tolerant
The US Navy has mapped the wreckage of a C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed into the Philippine Sea in November 2017. The navy carried out the mission from aboard research vessel RV Petrel using the vessel’s side scan sonar and remote operated vehicle (ROV) to survey the aircraft from Feb. 2-5. Th
US Navy’s expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF-4) has wrapped up 28 days of repairs in Laem Chabang, Thailand. Fall River completed the critical maintenance on February 13, and is now able to continue theater security cooperation efforts in the region. “The ability to conduct voy
The US Navy has unveiled the names of new expeditionary fast transport (EPF) and littoral combat ships. Richard V. Spencer, Secretary of the Navy, announced on February 13 that the next Freedom and Independence variant littoral combat ships will be named USS Nantucket (LCS 27) and USS Savannah (LCS
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced it wants to find a way to tap into sea life and help the US Navy to monitor the world’s oceans more efficiently. The US military deploys networks of manned and unmanned platforms and sensors to monitor adversary activity, but the sca
US Navy destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) completed a war-at-sea exercise (WASEX) with Albanian Naval Brigade patrol vessel ALS Iliria (P 131) in the Adriatic Sea on February 7. The two vessels completed the drill before the US destroyer pulled into the Albanian city of Vlore for a regularly-scheduled por
The US Navy has submitted its long-range ship acquisition plan to Congress under which it expects to reach its 355-ship fleet by the early 2050s. Released February 12, the 30-Year Ship Acquisition Plan is a Congressionally-mandated report which describes the Department of the Navy’s long-range shipb
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command has awarded Vigor Marine a $14 million contract for the overhaul and dry docking of dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10). During the 47-calendar day shipyard availability, Vigor will be furnishing general services for the ship, forward aqueous
US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) pulled into Laem Chabang, Thailand, on Feb. 11, where its sailors and marines are to participate in exercise Cobra Gold 2018 (CG18). The CG 18 opening ceremony took place February 13, marking the beginning of one of the Indo-Pacific region
Article by Peter Ong On January 14, 2018, the USS Frank Cable sub tender turned 40 years old since christening on January 14, 1978. Currently, the U.S. Navy (USN) has two 1970s-built submarine tenders, the USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and the USS Frank Cable (AS 40). Both are now home-ported in Guam as
