Aviation
US Navy’s newest LPD to be named USS Richard M. McCool
The US Navy’s newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship will be named in honor of Navy veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, Capt. Richard M. McCool Jr. McCool, a native of Oklahoma, graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1944 and later served aboard Landing Craft Support (Large) 122 o
USCG cutter Legare returns to Portsmouth after USD 390M drugs seizure
The crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Legare returned home to Portsmouth on April 28 after seizing a large amount of drugs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Last week, the Legare crew stopped in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to offload 24,886 pounds of cocaine and 2,664 pounds of marijuana seized from suspe
Retired US Navy Seahawk helicopter to help Australia with fatigue testing tech
Australian scientists will be using a retired US Navy Seahawk helicopter for the development of fatigue testing technologies, the Australian defense ministry has announced. The technology on which the scientists will work could transform how military helicopters are managed with the potential to red
USS Essex starts ARGMEUEX with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit
US Navy ships from the Essex amphibious ready group (ARG) and marines assigned to 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) started one of the final preparatory exercises ahead of their deployment later this year. The ARGMEUEX, an exercise led by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 15 and 1st Marine Expeditionary
Japan Coast Guard orders another H225 helicopter
The Japan Coast Guard has ordered another H225 helicopter from Airbus Helicopters, bringing its fleet of H225 aircraft to ten units. JCG currently operates three AS332s and five H225s, both from the Super Puma family. With this new order, the coast guard’s Super Puma fleet will grow to 13 units by M
Spanish warships switch places in counter piracy mission off Africa
A Spanish offshore patrol vessel replaced an auxiliary oiler as the Spanish Navy contribution to the counter-piracy effort off the Horn of Africa – operation Atalanta. On April 21, oiler ESPS Patino left the Somali basin after five months of operations as part of the EUNAVFOR-led operation. Filling
Wasp completes first patrol in US 7th Fleet
The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) has wrapped up the inaugural patrol following its homeport shift to the US 7th Fleet area of operations earlier this year. Wasp and other ships of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) have been operating with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)
USS Coronado wraps up COBRA coastal mine detection system operational testing
US Navy littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) has successfully completed operational testing of the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) System, the navy has announced. This second phase of testing for Coronado, which began shortly after completion of developmental testing, Fe
Damen lays keel for first of two Pakistan Navy OPVs
Dutch shipbuilder Damen recently hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the first of two Pakistan Navy offshore patrol vessels at its shipyard in Galati, Romania. The ceremony was attended by Pakistan Navy Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (Projects), other navy officials and Da
ASW drill Guardian Sea starting in Thailand
US and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) ships and submarines are teaming up for a five-day anti-submarine and maritime domain awareness exercise which will be taking place in the Andaman Sea from April 25. The exercise is called Guardian Sea and will involve cooperative evolutions designed to enhance mutual ca
Singapore, Indonesia hold joint naval drill Eagle Indopura
The navies of Republic of Singapore and Indonesia are taking part in the joint naval exercise Eagle Indopura which kicked off at Changi Naval Base in Singapore on April 19. The bilateral exercise aims to enhance the interoperability and professionalism of both navies through anti-surface and anti-ai
Israel names four new German-built Sa’ar 6 corvettes
Israeli Navy Commander in Chief has announced the names of the four Sa’ar 6 vessels currently under construction in Germany. In an announcement on April 22, Major General Eli Sharvit said the new ships would be named INS Magen, Oz, Independence and Victory. Construction on the new class of ships sta
US State Department approves sale of MH-60R helicopters to Mexico
The US State Department has approved the sale of eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission helicopters to Mexico under a deal worth an estimated $1.20 billion. The potential acquisition of the helicopters would boost Mexico’s ability to carry out anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions an
First Peruvian Navy landing platform dock B.A.P. Pisco starts sea trials
B.A.P. Pisco, the lead ship of the Peruvian Navy’s landing platform dock ships, has started sea trials, the Peruvian Navy announced April 19. Pisco got underway from the Peruvian state-owned shipyard SIMA (Servicios Industriales de la Marina S.A.) in Callao, where it was launched in April 2017, afte