German Navy F124 frigate FGS Hessen is scheduled to depart its Wilhelmshaven homeport on April 11 to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2). The air-defense frigate will replace another German vessel currently deployed to the mission in the Aegean Sea. Combat support ship Bonn deployed to
The Royal Australian Air Force has received its eighth Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, Australia’s defense minister announced on April 9. The aircraft number eight had been identified as RAAF’s long-term fatigue management aircraft and had been fitted with a raft of diagnostic equipment, acc
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) got underway from Naval Station Norfolk on April 8 for its flight deck certification and for first flight ops since the summer of 2017. The ship recently completed a planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard as part of the m
US personnel stationed in Tripoli were evacuated from the city in the wake of the advance of Libyan National Army forces, led by General Khalifa Hifter, towards the Libyan capital. LNA forces started their push on April 5. The UN-backed government says that 21 people have already been killed in figh
France’s Naval Group and Germany’s MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH have signed the first major equipment subcontract for the Australian Attack-class submarine program. The contract will see MTU Friedrichshafen design the diesel generator rectifier (DGR) for the submarines to turn mechanized energy into ele
Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose recently documented a North Korean ship carrying out an illegal ship-to-ship fuel transfer in the East China Sea. Working alongside Japanese partners on March 2, the British frigate spotted the North Korean-flagged tanker Saebyol, which was transmitting on ship tracki
Australia handed over a Guardian-class patrol boat to the Pacific Island country Tuvalu in a ceremony in Perth, Australia, on April 5. The 39.5 meter steel hulled patrol boat was built by Australian shipbuilder Austal under an AUD 335 million program that will see 21 boats gifted to 12 Pacific Islan
German Bundeswehr Technical Center for ships and naval weapons, maritime technology and research (WTD 71) recently completed sea trials of the SeaSpider anti-torpedo torpedo in the Baltic Sea. The trials were carried out sometime in 2018 from a WTD 71 multipurpose vessel in cooperation with defense
NATO’s Allied Maritime Command hosted a ceremony on the 70th anniversary of the alliance to ceremonially activate a new command called Commander Surface Forces NATO (COMSURFNATO). This April 4 activation is part of NATO’s Command Structure Adaptation (NCS-A) remarking new NATO at its birthday. One o
The US Naval Sea Systems Command is kick-starting the $21 billion plan to upgrade the four public shipyards to improve their productivity and increase their maintenance throughput in order to support the combat readiness of the navy the nation needs. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Shipyard I
The Australian defense ministry announced it is buying the second of a planned fleet of six MQ-4C Triton remotely piloted aircraft. Australia is acquiring the Tritons through a cooperative program with the United States Navy. The MQ-4C is being acquired to complement Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol ai
A Royal Australian Navy task group composed of a helicopter carrier, frigates, and a submarine arrived in India ahead of the start of exercise Ausindex. This is the second time India is hosting the exercise, which was first held in September 2015 at Visakhaptnam. Landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberr
The US 2nd Fleet (C2F) is scheduled to lead the major Baltic Sea exercise BALTOPS 2019, seven months after the command was re-established at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. The US 2nd Fleet, which falls under operational control of the US Fleet Forces Command, was set up again after previously bein
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) completed its sea trials following an overhaul which lasted three times longer than expected. Ike returned to Naval Station Norfolk on April 1, after getting underway five days earlier. The sea trials were the first time Ike returned to sea
