F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp used the GAU-22 cannon against a simulated target and executed the first shipboard hot reload of ordnance in the Indo-Pacific region while underway in the Solomon Sea. The aircraft from Marine Medium Tiltrotor S
The US state department has approved the sale of twelve MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to the Republic of Korea. The country earlier seemed poised to acquire 12 Leonardo AW159 Wildcat anti-submarine helicopters but South Korea’s defense procurement agency (DAPA) announced earlier this year it woul
US Navy’s Japan-based amphibious ships met up with their Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) counterparts for training off Australia. US Navy transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) trained with Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH 18
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra returned home last week, completing a six-month deployment to Asia. The 230-meter LHD sailed almost 22,000 nautical miles during the deployment, visiting Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia as part of the
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra has completed trials to transport an M1A1 main battle tank and large vehicle loads ashore using an LHD landing craft. The tests, carried out with the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Combat Service Support Battali
The Japanese government intends to acquire around 20 unmanned helicopters for its Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF), local media reports have said citing unnamed officials. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the acquisition of a yet unspecified large, unmanned helicopter fleet would be in response
A multinational amphibious landing and offensive assault was part of exercise Talisman Sabre.
French shipbuilder OCEA is ready to launch the 84-meter offshore patrol vessel OPV 270 for the Philippines Coast Guard at its Les Sables d’Olonne site on July 17. The shipbuilder says the vessel is the “largest aluminium OPV built in the world”. It is built under a contract from late 2017, which inc
Ships from the Royal Australian Navy’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 (IPE 19) joint task force have returned to Australia following a three-month deployment to South and South East Asia. The flagship HMAS Canberra anchored off Darwin, having visited seven nations since March 2019 during the third IPE
French Navy aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) met up with ships from the navies of the US, Australia and Japan for a series of maneuvers in the Bay of Bengal. The exercise involving US destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), Australian Navy frigate HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156) and submar
A 19-ship exercise organized by the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus concluded in Singapore on May 13. Co-organised by Singapore and the Republic of Korea under their co-chairmanship of the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security, the “Maritime Security Field Training Exerc
The US Navy is concluding its support for the search and recovery operations of the Japanese F-35A fighter jet that went missing over the Pacific, off Misawa Air Base on April 9. A US Navy salvage team aboard the contracted vessel DSCV Van Gogh completed its mission after locating debris from the do
US Navy ship USS William P. Lawrence joined ships from the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Republic of Philippine Navy to sail through the South China Sea between May 2 and 8. As the USS William P. Lawrence sailed with allies, the guided-missile destroyer’s sister ships USS Prebl
A US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol craft is joining the Republic of Korea Navy hosted Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-Plus) maritime security and counterterrorism exercise which kicked off on April 30. The exercise enhances cooperation between ADM
