The US State Department has approved the sale of three SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV) MK 11 Shallow Water Combat Submersibles (SWCS) to the United Kingdom. The contract is worth an estimated $90 million and includes spares, handling and test equipment, and program support. According to the statement,
US Navy and coalition assets completed the US 5th Fleet Theater Counter Mine and Maritime Security Exercise on September 18. As explained, the multi-faceted exercise was conducted to ensure maritime stability and security in the US Central Command area of responsibility, connecting the Mediterranean
The US Coast Guard received future USCGC Kimball, its seventh national security cutter (NSC), in Pascagoula, Mississippi, September 19. Kimball is scheduled for commissioning at its Honolulu homeport in January 2019; it will be the first NSC stationed there. The cutter’s namesake, Sumner Kimball, se
The US Navy is set to christen its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Kansas City (LCS 22), on Saturday, Sept. 22, in Mobile, Alabama. At the ceremony, the principal speaker will be US Representative Emanuel Cleaver II from Missouri. Mrs. Tracy Davidson, wife of c
Italian Navy transport vessel Nave Caprera was used to smuggle cigarettes on the return trip from Libya where the ship was deployed in support of an EU migrant interdiction mission. The ship reportedly returned to the Italian Navy base Brindisi with over 700 kg of cigarettes on board. This was confi
The 2018-edition of the US Navy’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) provided a venue for industry and academia to demonstrate new navy technologies with a focus on interaction between humans and machines. Taking place at Naval Station Newport and the Narragansett Bay Test Facility (NBTF) at
The US Naval Surface Warfare Centre – Panama City Division (NSWC PCD), teamed with JFD to develop an advanced combat diver navigation module called Shadow NAV. According to JFD, the device brings a hands-free underwater navigation capability to the military market for the first time. Military combat
US Navy Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships from the US 5th Fleet’s Combined Task Force (CTF) 55 honed artillery skills during a Griffin Missile System (GMS) fleet firing exercise which took place between September 16 and 18 in the Middle East. Coastal patrol ships USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Monsoon (
A facility for the manufacturing of LiftFan systems for F-35B jets has been ceremonially opened by UK defense minister Stuart Andrew at Rolls-Royce in Bristol today. Production at the site has been building up since 2009, with the official opening now marking the fact that the facility is heading to
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded VT Halter Marine a $77.9 million contract to design and build a new class of barracks ships – dubbed Auxiliary Personnel Lighter – Small (APL(S)). As these craft are similar to accommodation barges used in the commercial oil and gas industry, APL(S) was d
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon got underway from her Portsmouth homeport on September 17 after a short, unspecified, delay. Dragon is now headed for the Persian Gulf where it is expected to spend several months an operational deployment. The destroyer is scheduled to work alongside coalition and regio
The US Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Carderock Division, has awarded Houston-based Sonardyne Inc. a contract to deliver its underwater target tracking technology for use at the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (SFOMF). Located in Maryland, Carderock Division is the US Navy’s research,
The US State Department has approved the potential sale of six P-8A patrol aircraft to the Republic of Korea under an estimated $2.1 billion contract. South Korea’s decision to pick Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon as its new maritime patrol aircraft was made known in June this year. The P-8A would replace th
Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding launched the Canadian Navy’s first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel, the future HMCS Harry DeWolf, in a ceremony on September 15. At 103 meters and 6,615 tons, the future HMCS Harry DeWolf is the largest Royal Canadian Navy ship built in Canada in 50 years, accordi
