Ships from the US Navy’s Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and Marines attached to 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) completed the composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) off the coast of Southern California, June 15. COMPTUEX is a sea and land-based deployment certification event involving
Sailors and Marines from the US and Royal Thai Navy started the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series in Pattaya, June 14. The multi-nation exercise series is organized in bilateral phases with regional nations and is designed to enhance capabilities in a broad spectrum o
Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey relieved Rear Adm. John Fuller as commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, during a pierside change of command ceremony, June 12, aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Vice Adm. John D. Alexander, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, presided over the ceremony and thanked Fuller for his effo
The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a contract to provide lead yard services for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer program. The contract was announced June 8 and is valued at $49.8 million for the first year with four option years, with a total contract value of $
The US Coast Guard announced it has awarded a contract to Insitu Inc. to deliver small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for the service’s national security cutters (NSCs). Installations of sUAS on NSCs are planned at a rate of about two per year, the coast guard noted adding that the total value of
Ships, submarines and aircraft from Japan, US and India have kicked off the 22nd edition of the now trilateral naval exercise Malabar. The exercise runs from June 7 through June 16. Malabar 2018 is the first time the exercise has been conducted off the coast of Guam, and the latest in a continuing s
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
Shortly after starting its summer patrol, the US Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) off the coast of Japan, June 3. The three-day fly-on and requalification of flight deck crew and aircrew involved more than 60 aircraft and include
Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards has been awarded a CAD$66 million contract to start construction of Joint Support Ships (JSS) for the Royal Canadian Navy. Starting work in the next two months, Seaspan will build up to 52 blocks that will eventually constitute complete ships. The new joint sup
US Navy ships from the Essex amphibious ready group started the composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit marines off the coast of California on May 30. COMPTUEX is an exercise led by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 15 and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Expeditionar
A change of command ceremony on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam on May 30 saw the US Pacific Command (PACOM) welcome a new commander as Adm. Phil Davidson relieved Adm. Harry Harris. In addition to receiving a new commander, PACOM also received a new name. Presiding over the ceremony, US defense secr
The world’s largest international naval exercise – Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) – will be hosting 26 nations, 47 surface ships, five submarines, 18 national land forces, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel for maneuvers, the US Navy has announced. The exercise is scheduled to take place b
US Navy ships centered around the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) returned to US 6th Fleet operations after completing a four day port visit to Souda Bay, Crete, May 23-27. The aircraft carrier docked at the US naval base in Souda Bay while Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bulkeley do
