USS Topeka (SSN 754), the U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine, returned to its homeport of Apra Harbor, Guam, after completing routine patrols throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The submarine’s forward-operating period to the western Pacific concluded on January 28 when the submarin
U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) departed her homeport of Sasebo, Japan, on January 30. During a 3-month maintenance availability that was recently completed, the crew of Bonhomme Richard preserved and refurbished the ship and had the opportunity to t
U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarine USS Olympia departed the city of Olympia on January 30 following a series of engagements with civic and community leaders and locally-based organizations. The namesake visit provided an opportunity for the crew of Olympia to demonstrate the quality of naval pe
Guatemala will be the first destination of this year’s, multi-service, humanitarian mission Continuing Promise. A team of 169 U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps service members departed Naval Station Mayport, Florida, January 26, for a stop in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. They will spend rou
The U.S. Navy said on January 29 that one of its destroyers helped a stranded Iranian dhow on January 27. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) responded to a distress call from an Iranian-flagged dhow and provided assistance to the 75-foot stranded dhow by supplying 17 gall
U.S. Navy’s George H.W. Bush carrier strike group entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on January 29, eight days after departing its homeport of Norfolk. The Bush CSG started its routine deployment on January 21 in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The groups consists o
Huntington Ingalls Industries announced on Friday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the eighth U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Midgett (WMSL 757). The ship is named to honor John Allen Midgett, who was awarded the silver cup by the U.K. Board of Trade in 191
General Dynamics NASSCO began construction on the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy’s expeditionary transfer dock (ESD)/expeditionary sea base (ESB) program on January 25. The still unnamed fifth ESB ship will feature a a 52,000 square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines
The U.S. Strategic Systems Programs office awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $22.7 million contract modification for further work on the common missile compartment of the U.S. Navy’s new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. Under the latest contract, Northrop Grumman will provide support fo
A federal hiring freeze memorandum signed by U.S. president Donald Trump might have a negative impact on navy shipyards and operations, U.S. senators said. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, joined by other senate colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis calling for Depa
U.S. and UK defense representatives signed an agreement on closer P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft cooperation on January 25. The declaration, signed between UK’s Minister for Defense Procurement Harriett Baldwin and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, will see the two countries sharing logistic
U.S. president Donald J. Trump on Wednesday announced his intention to nominate Philip Bilden as the 76th secretary of the Navy. If confirmed by the Senate, Bilden will replace Ray Mabus, who was the longest serving Navy secretary since World War I. The announcement follows the president’s nominatio
Sailors from the U.S. Navy Cargo Handling Battalion (NCHB) 1 reached the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica to take part in operation Deep Freeze 2017. Operation Deep Freeze is the military’s logistical support component of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), the nation’s res
The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon a $56.4 million contract for repair works on the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared System used on the navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets. ATFLIR is a targeting pod used on F/A-18s for electro-optical/infrared imagery and target detection for air-to-air and air-t