Northrop Grumman Systems has received a contract to build the third E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning and attack aircraft for the government of Japan. According to a Pentagon announcement from June 5, Northrop received $153.2 million for the construction of the aircraft which is expected to be com
The Royal Navy and Air Force welcomed their first F-35B Lightning II fighter jets as they landed at RAF Marham in Norfolk on June 6. The aircraft arrived in the UK following a one-day delay caused by adverse weather conditions over the Atlantic which complicated the necessary aerial refueling proced
The crew of the US Navy’s Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Columbia (SSN 771) returned to their Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam homeport in Hawaii on June 6. Columbia spent the past six months in the Western Pacific conducting operations and exercises in support of national security. Cmdr.
Royal Australian and New Zealand Naviy personnel took part in a week long exercise recently honing their skills in responding to piracy activities on commercial shipping surrounding fictitious countries in the Tasman Sea. Exercise Goanna 18 drew on lessons learnt from RAN and RNZN deployments in dom
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has made an additional three narcotics seizures in the Middle East, bringing the total amount of drugs seized to well over 33 tons. In the three boarding operations carried out in the Arabian Sea between June 3 and 5, Australian sailors seized close to s
BAE Systems has received a contract to produce payload tubes for two of the US Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines to support increased firepower on the Block V version of the attack subs. Under the contract with General Dynamics Electric Boat, a builder of the Virginia class, BAE Systems will deli
US Navy pilots from Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1), embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), are training with the Italian Air Force in integrated flight operations taking place from May 28 to June 7. The exercise features F/A-18s from CVW-1’s four fighter squadrons, which integrated with Italian
The Royal Navy has reportedly informed the Brazilian Navy that it is preparing to sell one of its two Wave-class tankers in 2019. According to the Brazilian website Poder Naval, this is the second time the Brazilian Navy has received a notice from the UK about the potential sale of one of the two ta
US Navy destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG 77) completed a seven-month Western Pacific deployment returning to its homeport at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 4. O’Kane departed Pearl Harbor, Nov. 4, to conduct ballistic missile defense operations near the American territory of Guam. O’Kane remained o
Exercise Malabar, the trilateral naval drill taking place off the coast of Guam, will feature a total of 12 warships – including aircraft and helicopter carriers – and two submarines. The lineup for the maneuvers could have been even more impressive had the Royal Australian Navy been allowed to join
French and UK defense contractors Thales and BAE Systems have teamed up with Canadian consulting company CGI for the second phase of the Royal Navy’s Maritime Electronic Warfare Programme (MEWP). MEWP is a UK defense ministry procurement program that aims to provide upgraded electronic warfare capab
Royal Navy landing ship RFA Lyme Bay on June 1 joined the French helicopter carrier BPC Tonnerre in the French port city of La Rochelle, in the Bay of Biscay, to embark an expeditionary force for the amphibious exercise Catamaran 2018. In addition to the two countries’ navy and marine forces, the ex
The US Navy officially welcomed the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system to the fleet with a ceremony on May 31. The ceremony marked the start of flight operations, seven months after the US Navy received its first operational Triton from Northrop Grumman in November 2017. Naval Base Ventura County
The humanitarian assistance and disaster relief readiness exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 concluded June 2 as US Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed Nha Trang, Vietnam. This mission in Nha Trang included personnel from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force embarked in JDS Osumi (LS
