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
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was at the center of an important milestone for the F-35 program as an F-35B performed the first ever shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) British test pilot Peter Wilson conducted the landing this weekend. Previously the jets have conducted only
Two Royal Canadian Navy ships will be joining US and Japan Self Defense Force units for exercise Keen Sword which is scheduled to start on October 29. According to the US Navy, this will be the first time Canadian Navy ships are taking part in the maritime portion of the exercise. While the US Navy
The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has released a request for proposal (RFP) seeking a shipbuilder for the delivery of a new class of training ships referred to as a National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV). The vessel construction manager (VCM) selected by MARAD will contract with a qualif
After welcoming her first F-35B fighter jets on the flight deck as part of first-of-class flight trials, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth recently welcomed two US Navy helicopter heavyweights on the deck. The first to land was the United States Navy’s biggest helicopter – the MH-5
Double hull oil tanker Manning has fueled a landing helicopter dock of the Royal Australian Navy with naval aviation fuel (F44) by self-propelled water fuel lighter for the first time. In a recent trial, HMAS Canberra maneuvered into position between Clark Island and the Garden Island Heritage cente
An industry team composed of BAE Systems, Atlantic & Peninsula Australia, Saab Australia and Navantia Australia has submitted a bid to the Australian government to provide sustainment and support for the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ships (LHD). Also included in the bid are support for the
The Royal Australian Navy has begun trials of a new corrosion-resistant coating that reduces the build-up of algae and barnacles on ship hydraulic components. HMAS Canberra, one of the Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock ships, is now testing the coating. Researchers from Swinburne Univers
US Navy aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) met up with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH 183) in the Philippine Sea for two days of maritime operations during a cooperative deployment on October 9 and 10. During the cooperative deployment, the Ronald R
The Turkish Navy-hosted exercise Mavi Balina concluded on October 9, after a week of evolutions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mavi Balina consisted of a port phase which started September 27 and transitioned to the at-sea portion on September 30. The biannual anti-submarine warfare exercise also
