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Essex amphibious ready group starts COMPTUEX
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
Arrowhead 140 design for UK Type 31e frigate revealed
A Babcock-led industry team has officially unveiled the Arrowhead 140 concept as their design for the UK defense ministry’s Type 31e general purpose light frigate program. Babcock, Thales, OMT, BMT, Harland and Wolff and Ferguson Marine are all part of the team bidding for the UK MoD’s £1.25 billion
Australia’s second AWD destroyer completes Category 5 sea trials
Australia’s second air warfare destroyer ‘Brisbane’ recently completed her Category 5 (CAT 5) sea trials off the coast of Adelaide, the Royal Australian Navy has announced. The destroyer got underway for the trials in November 2017. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance which is in charge of delivering
US Pacific Command gets new name and new commander
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
Four newcomers joining 26-nation naval drill RIMPAC 2018 off Hawaii
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
Royal Navy minehunter Ramsey joins NATO’s SNMCMG1
Royal Navy minehunter HMS Ramsey got underway from its homeport of HMNB Clyde last week to start a deployment with the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). During its deployment, Ramsey will help with the disposal of historical ordnance left over from conflicts in the Northern Europ
Harry S. Truman CSG returns to operations after Greece visit
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
Austal launches first of 21 new Pacific Patrol Boats
Australian shipbuilder Austal on May 30 announced that the first of overall 21 Pacific Patrol Boats was launched after officially starting construction in April 2017. The first vessel in the class is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October 2018. The boats are also known as the Gua
Spanish frigate Victoria visits Haifa on first ever port call in Israel
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Victoria pulled into the Haifa port on May 25 for her first ever visit to Israel. The 31-year-old Santa Maria-class frigate arrived in Haifa together with Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan for a weekend port call. The two ships are currently deployed to NATO’s Standin
Australian frigate underway for Asia Pacific deployment, exercise RIMPAC
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne departed her home port of Fleet Base East bound to start a seven month deployment to the South West Pacific and North East Asia. Melbourne’s deployment will include participation in the second iteration of Indo-Pacific Endeavour, exercise Kakadu in Austra
Norway to host 70 vessels, 40,000 personnel for Trident Juncture 2018
The upcoming flagship NATO exercise Trident Juncture 2018 is expected to be one of the largest ever with 40,000 personnel, around 120 aircraft and as many as 70 ships converging this fall in Norway. Compared to the 2015 edition of the exercise which was said to be “the largest NATO exercise in a dec
Luerssen, Civmec form “Australian Maritime Shipbuilding and Export Group” joint venture
German shipbuilder Luerssen – the prime contractor in the Australian SEA 1180 offshore patrol vessel program – has formed a joint venture with Australian engineering and defense contractor Civmec. The joint venture will be called the Australian Maritime Shipbuilding and Export Group and will play a
Baltic Sea mine warfare drill Open Spirit draws to a close
The Estonian-hosted mine warfare drill Open Spirit concluded in the Baltic Sea on May 25. The two-week multinational naval mine clearance and ordnance disposal operation took place in two main areas – around Tallin, and around the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumma. In addition to ships from Baltic sta
Fincantieri signs MoU with University of Adelaide
The Australian branch of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Adelaide to develop a collaborative program of education and research co-operation. CETENA, a subsidiary company of Fincantieri, which undertakes research a