The U.S. Navy’s first afloat forward staging base-interim, USS Ponce (AFSB-I), arrived in Bahrain for duty in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), July 6. Prior to arriving in theater, Ponce, formerly designated as an amphibious transport dock (LPD), was converted and reclassified as an
Sailors on survey HMS Echo completed the Full Monty in the sweltering heat of the Mediterranean. The ship’s company mirrored the advance of the legendary WW2 general from Tobruk to Tripoli 70 years ago by cycling the 630-mile distance. Sailors from the survey ship clambered on to exercise bikes to c
Australian Defence Force personnel have been praised for their ongoing commitment to disaster response and humanitarian civic assistance in the Asia-Pacific region as the first ADF medical contingent rotates home from Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12). PP12 Mission Commander Captain Jim Morgan (US Nav
Australian sailors, soldiers, airmen and women have joined defence forces from 21 other nations, including France, Canada and Russia, for Exercise RIM-OF-THE-PACIFIC (RIMPAC 12) in the islands of Hawaii. Approximately 1100 Australian Defence personnel are among 25,000 personnel participating in the
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to supply the Platform Management System (PMS) for the Royal Navy’s fifth Astute-class submarine, Anson. Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit will supply the PMS for Astute Boat 5 under a performance partnering arrangement (PPA) with BAE Syste
Fresh from maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean, Merlins of 814 Naval Air Squadron decamped to Stavanger to hunt three diesel boats determined to ‘sink’ a German tanker. Normally they don’t make it quite as easy as this for the Navy’s top submarine hunters to find them… The tell-tale mas
Babcock has successfully delivered a long term contract to upgrade the 4.5 inch Mk8 naval gun to Mod1 standard, with the completion June of the last gun system upgrade to programme and cost. Babcock undertook the first Mk8 Mod1 upgrade under the contract in 2005. The seven year programme has involve
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced the launch of the second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) at the Navantia shipyard in Spain. The launch represented a major milestone in the shipbuilding process and was attended by the Chief of Navy, Vice
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope gave a keynote speech yesterday to international naval leaders, historians and maritime experts, underlining the importance of the aircraft carrier to the future of the Navy – and the nation. Addressing the Future Maritime Operations Conference at the globall
Brand-new £1bn destroyer HMS Dragon saluted the seven cruise ships of world’s famous P&O line last night as they gathered in the Solent to mark the firm’s 175th birthday. The seven liners – displacing more than half a million tonnes in total – conducted a sail past out of Southampton, with HMS Drago
Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $59,938,108 cost-plus-award-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for lifetime sustainment and support services for the installed Aegis Weapon System, the U.S. Defence Department announced on July 3. The Naval Sea Syst
USS Constitution and her crew got underway for her annual July 4th turnaround cruise in Boston Harbor, July 4. The cruise was Constitution’s second of 2012 and one of the last major events of Boston Navy Week, June 28-July 5. “There is simply no better way to celebrate Independence Day than being on
The guided missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia, for their first Caribbean port visit, June 28, during their deployment in support of Operation Martillo. Carr visited Santa Marta following a month at sea conducting operations to counter transnational organized crime (CT
Guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) employed airborne use of force (AUF) to stop a vessel suspected of transporting illegal drugs, June 19 in support of Operation Martillo. The interdiction operation recovered
