The Italian Navy recently used the new Leonardo-developed M-40 target drones in an exercise involving the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and Durand de la Penne-class destroyer ITS Francesco Mimbelli. The exercise saw the aircraft carrier and its complement of AV8B+ fighter aircraft training alongside t
A Royal Australian Navy task group composed of landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra, frigate HMAS Newcastle, and tanker HMAS Sirius, departed Sydney Harbour on February 17 to start a series of exercises and engagements with regional allies. The task group will spend the next several weeks participa
The Australian defense ministry has selected Raytheon Australia to act as the country’s Aegis systems integration agent. Defense minister Christopher Pyne announced that the ministry issued a limited request for tender to Raytheon to establish a deed of standing offer under which Raytheon Australia
The 38th iteration of multi-lateral exercise Cobra Gold kicked off with an opening ceremony at the Akathotsarot Camp, Phitsanulok Province, on February 12. Representatives of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and US Indo-Pacific Command were joined by the ambassadors of Japan and the Republic of Korea and
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) returned to Naval Station Rota, Spain, for a scheduled training and maintenance availability (TRAV) on February 13. The maintenance is being conducted after the ship completed a patrol in the US 6th Fleet Area of Operations.
The Republic of Singapore Navy’s first Type 218SG submarine is scheduled to be launched later this month in Germany, in a ceremony attended by Singapore’s defense minister Ng Eng Hen. The defense minister will attend the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich on February 16, before attendin
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) are currently underway in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, taking part in what the NATO Maritime Command describes as advanced Force Integration Training (FIT). The drills are being conducted as part of the group’s patrols in the region. Composed o
German Navy F122 frigate FGS Augsburg will return to her Wilhelmshaven homeport on Friday, Februrary 15, concluding her final operational deployment. The frigate is one of only two ships in her class and is scheduled to retire this year after 30 years of service. In addition to concluding her final
A former US Navy director of public affairs for the US Pacific Fleet was sentenced to six months for helping foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis embezzle the US Navy out of millions of dollars. Captain Jeffrey Breslau was sentenced for secretly moonlighting as a paid public relations co
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force commissioned the first Guardian-class patrol boat HMPNGS Ted Diro in a ceremony on February 1. The ceremony was attended by the Chief of the Australian Defence Force and the ship’s company of the Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale-class patrol boat HMAS Wollongong. T
The Australian government has signed an official contract with France’s Naval Group for the construction of 12 new submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. The contract signing on February 11 marks the conclusion of two years of negotiations after Australia selected the French shipbuilder over Japa
French defense contractor Naval Group has joined forces with Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC in a bid to secure a contract for the Royal Netherlands Navy’s submarine replacement project. The two companies are combining their experience and expertise in designing and manufacturing complex maritime and de
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Regina on Wednesday departed the Esquimalt naval base in company of support ship M/V Asterix, starting a deployment which will see the duo operate in the Pacific Ocean, Asia, Middle East and East Africa. Asterix returned to sea after completing a five-month Asia-Paci
Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards has awarded Lockheed Martin Canada a CAD118 million contract to provide the Command Management System for the Royal Canadian Navy’s Joint Support Ships. Seaspan says this is the largest contract package the company will award for work on the JSS. Lockheed Marti
