Navantia Australia and BAE Systems have signed a contract for the maintenance of Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class air warfare destroyers. According to Navantia, the agreement for “platform system design and engineering assurance services” was signed at the Garden Island Naval Base on Tuesday, 15 M
Naval Group Australia on May 18 announced that its board of directors appointed John Davis as the chief executive officer (CEO) and Future Submarine program director. According to Naval Group, the appointment will become effective 1 July 2018. John Davis will be in charge of the delivering a fleet o
The US Marine Corps on May 16 received their first CH-53 King Stallion helicopter from Sikorsky. The aircraft is the first of an expected 200 helicopters for the Marine Corps’ fleet. The CH-53K is the new build replacement for the US Marine Corps’ aging CH-53E Super Stallion fleet. The CH-53E first
Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel are preparing for their role in the wedding ceremony of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle which is taking place on 19 May 2018. Royal Navy sailors from the Fleet’s Small Ships and Diving Units and 30 Commando IX Group Royal Marines from Plymouth will
Royal Australian Navy ships have arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia, to take part in the French-led disaster response exercise Croix du Sud. Amphibious landing ship HMAS Choules and Coastal Mine Hunters HMAS Gascoyne and Yarra will join French and Royal New Zealand Navy ships for the exercise which is
The US-led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief readiness exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 arrived in Vietnam as personnel aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in Nha Trang on May 17. This year’s Pacific Partnership mission in Nha Trang will be joined by personnel from the J
Navantia Australia on April 27 opened its first international office in Singapore, the company said in an announcement on May 17. The company further said that it would now be managing the Asia Pacific operations for the Navantia group which is one of three bidders in the Royal Australian Navy’s Fut
Two Royal Navy Merlin Mk2 helicopters have returned home after two weeks of anti submarine warfare drills in the Norwegian Fjords as part of exercise Rogue Wizards 2018. The helicopters were flown by ‘Flying Sailors’ from the Merlin Training Squadron at RNAS Culdrose. 824 NAS is the unit which train
US Military Sealift Command operated ships USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) met with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver while underway in Asia Pacific, on May 15. While it was not stated, the exercise likely took place in the South China Sea as hospital ship USNS Mercy d
Australian government’s $89 billion program to develop new ships and submarines carries a high to extreme level of risk, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warned in its recent audit. The shipbuilding program for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) encompasses new submarines, major surface comb
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Poti, Georgia, on May 14 after concluding their participation in the Romanian-hosted Black Sea exercise Sea Shield 2018. During the four-day port call to Poti, the ships’ crews will join Georgian Border Police for drills aimed at incre
The UK defense secretary is set to announce a £2.5bn investment for new Royal Navy submarines during his visit to BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on Monday. According to the UK defense ministry, the investment includes £1.5bn for the construction of the seventh Astute-class sub
As part of the mission to ensure maritime security in the Gulf of Aden, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) have conducted a large-scale Focused Operation in conjunction with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR). The operation, known as Three Arrows, started on May 1, 2018, with warships from Japan, Spain
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has seized 295 kilograms of heroin from a vessel in the Arabian Sea. Following the detection of a suspect vessel in the Arabian Sea by Warramunga’s Seahawk Romeo helicopter, a boarding party search uncovered a number of packages containing heroin. After
