The Royal Australian Navy hosted a commissioning ceremony at HMAS Albatross on Wednesday to mark the formal transition of the Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit (NUASU) to 822X Squadron. This is a major milestone in the Royal Australian Navy’s capability to operate unmanned aerial systems in the m
The US Navy commissioned its first unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test and evaluation squadron during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s Webster Outlying Field, on October 18. The new unit, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX) 24, flies over 23 fixed and rotary wing UAS including the
One sailor is missing and two are in critical condition following the crash of a Mexican Navy MI-17 helicopter off the coast of Baja California on October 20. The helicopter was filmed crashing into the sea after the pilot lost control during regular patrol activities. According to the Mexican Navy,
Royal Navy aviators embarked aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be taking part in submarine-hunting tests with the US Navy. According to the Royal Navy, the 820 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) are sending a team and two of their Merlin Mk2 helicopters to the Atlantic Underwater Test and E
The first joint exercise between China and ASEAN member countries kicked off in Zhanjiang, in China’s Guandong province, on Monday, October 22. The five-day exercise is co-organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and will be joined by participants from all n
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra has hosted first of class trials (FOCT) for the army’s ARH Tiger helicopter. A team from the Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU) spent the last seven weeks embarked in HMAS Canberra evaluating the helicopters operational li
A helicopter from the French Army 1st Combat helicopter regiment crashed aboard the amphibious assault ship BPC Dixmude during night-time flight operations on October 17. Four sailors were injured, one of them seriously, as the helicopter crashed during takeoff, the French defense ministry said. The
An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter crashed aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during flight operations on Friday, the US Navy informed. The helicopter, assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, crashed on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier shortly after takeoff at approximately 9 a.m., Oct. 19. The na
The US Navy has shared a photo of a Poseidon P-8A ASW maritime patrol aircraft conducting the type’s first operational aerial refueling over the Mediterranean Sea. US Navy Aircrewmen assigned to the “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 carried out the flight Oct. 15, 2018, while patrolling the US 6
F-35 Lightning fighter jets have dropped first test bombs during flight trials on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. The inert GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided precision bombs were dropped off the east coast of the USA, marking another significant milestone in the carrier’s tri
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) recently became the first US Navy aircraft carrier to be fitted with a carrier-based Unmanned Aviation Warfare Center (UAWC), the US Navy has announced. During a brief ceremony attended by Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, and Commande
US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries started fabrication of the future amphibious assault ship USS Bougainville (LHA 8) at its Pascagoula shipyard on October 15. LHA 8 is the second ship named in honor of the Bougainville Island campaign in World War II and is scheduled to be delivered in 20
EU NAVFOR personnel joined the Chinese PLA(N) (Peoples Liberation Army) Navy for the first combined exercise at China’s new military base in Djibouti. The crew of ITS Federico Martinengo and members of the Chinese PLA(N) based in Djibouti conducted a medical evacuation exercise after EUNAVFOR person
Royal Fleet Auxiliary amphibious support ship RFA Lyme Bay has arrived at the port of Duqm in Oman to join the Anglo-Omani exercise Saif Sareea 3. The 16,000-ton ship sailed 5,000 miles from Falmouth to Duqm, where Britain has permanent facilities to support naval operations in the region. The port
