Aviation
Russian “spy ship task group” reaches North Sea
After entering the Atlantic Ocean on their return home from Mediterranean tasking on February 19, a Russian task group composed of three ships has now passed the English Channel. The Royal Navy announced on February 22 that it deployed patrol ship HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter from RNAS Yeovil
HMS Forth en route to Portsmouth homeport
HMS Forth, the first of five new Royal Navy patrol vessels, has started a journey to her new homeport in Portsmouth after completing sea trials. The ship got underway February 21, setting sail from Glasgow where it was built by BAE Systems. Designed for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, fishery protec
US Navy locates fishermen adrift at sea for 8 days
The crew of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon on February 20 helped rescue three fishermen after they spent three days adrift at sea. The 19-foot skiff was first reported missing Feb. 12 after it failed to return from a fishing expedition near Chuuk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia. According to t
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier now has a ping pong club
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is so big that the crew have had enough space aboard to set up a ping pong club, according to a recent Royal Navy story. The Royal Navy says that the ride of the 65,000-ton ship is smooth enough to provide a stable platform for the […]
Fincantieri lays keel for Italian Navy’s new Landing Helicopter Dock ‘Trieste’
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held a keel laying ceremony for the Italian Navy’s new landing helicopter dock (LHD) at its Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on February 20. Construction on the ship started with a steel cutting ceremony on July 12, 2017, and the delivery is expected for 2022. The shi
Brazil’s purchase of HMS Ocean confirmed
The sale of Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean to the Brazilian Navy has been officially confirmed, UK media reported. The price was set at £84 million, according to the reports. The sale is to take place next month while the ship itself will sail to Brazil in the summer. Babcock and BAE System
US Navy awards design contracts for FFG(X) frigate
The US Navy has selected five contenders for its FFG(X) future frigate program and awarded them conceptual design contracts on February 16. The selected companies are Austal and Lockheed Martin with their adaptations of littoral combat ship designs, Huntington Ingalls Industries with its offshore pa
US Navy awards HII $1.4B contract to construct LPD 29
The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29. Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.
Four-nation drill Khunjar Haad concludes in Gulf of Oman
Ships and personnel from the navies of Oman, UK, France and US concluded the international exercise Khunjar Haad in the Gulf of Oman on February 8. Overall 11 vessels, including US Coast Guard ships, took part in the exercise. Khunjar Haad featured a variety of evolutions consisting of air-defense,
US Navy maps C-2A Greyhound aircraft three nautical miles below surface
The US Navy has mapped the wreckage of a C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed into the Philippine Sea in November 2017. The navy carried out the mission from aboard research vessel RV Petrel using the vessel’s side scan sonar and remote operated vehicle (ROV) to survey the aircraft from Feb. 2-5. Th
USS Bonhomme Richard arrives in Thailand for Cobra Gold 2018
US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) pulled into Laem Chabang, Thailand, on Feb. 11, where its sailors and marines are to participate in exercise Cobra Gold 2018 (CG18). The CG 18 opening ceremony took place February 13, marking the beginning of one of the Indo-Pacific region
HMS Ocean returns to Plymouth with 203-meter decommissioning pennant
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean on Friday returned to Devonport Naval Base for the final time as a commissioned Royal Navy ship. The flagship entered Plymouth welcomed by well-wishers and flanked by landing craft and tugs firing water hoses high into the air. The amphibious helicopter and co
HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in Gibraltar on first overseas visit
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth pulled into Gibraltar on Friday morning for her first ever overseas port visit. The visit will be a logistical one for the 65,000-tonne future flagship which left her home in Portsmouth last week for helicopter trials. These helicopter trials take plac
Keel laid for Turkish landing helicopter dock TCG Anadolu
Turkish shipbuilder Sedef has held a keel-laying ceremony for the Turkish Navy amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu at its shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul. Once commissioned, the landing helicopter dock will be the first of its kind in the Turkish Navy. It is designed by Navantia and based on the Spanish