Australian-based shipbuilder Austal has laid the keel for the eighth U.S. Navy Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel Yuma (EPF 8) at its Mobile, Alabama facility during a ceremony held March 29. The ship is built under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion block-buy contract awarded to Austal in 2008. Laying the ke
Royal Australian Navy’s first Aegis-equipped Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD), HMAS Hobart, has begun integration and testing of the installed combat system. Testing will be facilitated by Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians who are responsible for testing the Aegis Combat System to ensure the equi
U.S. Navy ship Blue Ridge changed command during a port visit to Sri Lanka on March 29. Captain Matthew Paradise relieved Captain Kyle P. Higgins as commanding officer of the Command-class ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19). Higgins served as commanding officer for over 14 months, leading the ship and cre
Royal Australian Navy’s landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra which was deployed to Fiji in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston is set to return to Australia March 30. Following a request from the Fijian government, HMAS Canberra was deployed to Fiji on March 1 to deliver humanitarian aid and assis
Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), under the command of Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Jose Enrique Delgado, visited Riga, Latvia, for a scheduled port visit last week. The group is currently deployed to the North and Baltic Seas. SNMG1 is currently composed of three ships: the Spanish F100 class fr
The U.S. Navy has selected General Dynamics’ Electric Boat as the prime contractor to design and deliver 12 Ohio-Replacement submarines. In its Submarine Unified Build Strategy (SUBS), the U.S. Navy has outlined a way to keep the OR programme on schedule without neglecting the Virginia-class constru
Dr. Janine Davidson was sworn in as the 32nd under secretary of the Navy March 22. Davidson serves as the Navy’s chief management officer and performs other duties assigned by the secretary of the Navy. A former Air Force pilot and Pentagon official, Davidson brings nearly 30 years of experience in
Spanish Navy minesweeper ESPS Tambre concluded its deployment to the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 2 and returned to Cartagena, Spain on March 28. The Segura-class minesweeper spent two months integrated into the maritime group which was comprised of ships from different NATO member stat
Operation Atalanta’s new Force Commander who took command over the force six days ago used the opportunity to meet a Lithuanian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment as his ship, FGs Bayern, rendezvoused with World Food Programme ship MSM Douro. The Lithuanian team that comprises MSM Douro’s Auton
The U.S. Navy announced March 22 that the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chosin (CG 65) will change its homeport from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to San Diego and reduce its operating status as it undergoes the Navy’s Cruiser modernization program. The ship will be considered on deployment
Photos: Belgian Navy Belgian Navy’s minehunter BNS Primula officially joined the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 1 on March 14 and on March 21 began its deployment as it, together with other ships from the group, sailed out of the Zeebruge harbor in Belgium. During the three months the shi
German Navy Rear Admiral Jan Kaack took over the role of the Force Commander of EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta from the Italian Navy Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri on March 23. Rear Admiral Kaack will command the EU Naval Force Somalia from his flaghsip, FGS Bayern for five months. Speaking about his
The U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet operating in Europe and Africa has established a new task force that will be solely responsible for ballistic missile defense in Europe. On March 24, Commodore Jeffrey Wolstenholme assumed command of the newly established Commander, Task Force 64, as the unit was named. U.S
The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation has awarded a £19 million (approx $26M) contract for the Mare Harbour, Falklands, to be upgraded to host larger Royal Navy ships. UK-based civil engineering company VolkerStevin will design and construct a facility suitable to cater for the Point-class ship
