US Marines embarked aboard French amphibious assault ship LHD Tonnerre (L9014) concluded ten days of amphibious operations in the vicinity of Djibouti during the Alligator Dagger exercise. US marines and sailors from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Ma
US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) concluded a seven-month deployment to the US 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation, returning to its Naval Station Norfolk homeport on December 23. The ship departed May 23, to support anti-submarine exercises and operations in the Nor
Boeing’s prototyping department Phantom Works has unveiled the first photos of their contender for the US Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned refueling program. This is the first time the company is displaying its unmanned aircraft system (UAS) proposed for refueling US Navy jets operating from aircraft carriers.
US Navy destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) assisted an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf, stranded 60 nautical miles from nearest land with no communication capabilities. An MH-60R Sea Hawk embarked with Preble was conducting routine flight operations on December 16 when they spotted the Iranian vessel
US Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) wrapped up eight months of operations in the US 5th Fleet area of operation returning to her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk on December 15. The cruiser got underway on April 23, as an independent deployer, to support maritime security operatio
The fourteenth and final F-35B Lightning II to be delivered to UK this year rolled off the production line and flew into Beaufort, South Carolina, to join the Lightning Fleet which will be operated jointly by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The F-35 Lightning jets will be able to operate on land
US Navy sailors from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 12 joined their German Navy counterparts for two weeks of EOD training missions at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Nov. 27 through Dec. 11. EODMU 12 and their German counterparts conducted training evolutions
US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) has qualified the first nine F-35C Lightning II pilots during its underway period. The Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Carrier Qualifications were successfully completed between December 7 and 11. Along with Abraham Lincoln, the “
The US Marine Corps’ unmanned helicopter has completed a successful final flight demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced. The unmanned helicopter enhances autonomy options for the Marine Corps and was developed as part of the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/
The US Navy is set to receive USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF 9), its ninth expeditionary fast transport ship, later this month. As one of the navy’s newest ship classes, the non-combatant EPFs provide warfighters with a ship that can be configured and reconfigured to take on any number of missions fro
The US Navy amphibious ready group (ARG) assembled around the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima is ready to deploy after tackling the final pre-deployment hurdle. Sailors aboard the three ships constituting the ARG completed a combined composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) December 9, provi
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on December 7 launched combat sorties into Afghanistan as part of Pentagon’s operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the US Navy announced. Worth noting is the fact that the Roosevelt’s carrier air wing flew two different mission on the same day, one into Afghan
The US Navy announced it would be sending a team of deep water salvage experts to start a renewed search for the crashed C-2A Greyhound aircraft. The C-2A with 11 crew and passengers crashed in the Philippine Sea on the way to USS Ronald Reagan on November 22. While the aircraft’s last position on t
The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Bell-Boeing JPO a $19.6 million contract to deliver seven V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft for the US Marine Corps. The initial contract was awarded to Bell Boeing in June 2013 for the procurement of 100 V-22s during FY13-FY17. The total contract value was nearly
