The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $3 billion contract for the detail design and construction of the amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8). Ingalls was awarded the original long-lead material contract for the third ship in the America (LHA 6) class on June 30, 2016. Con
The U.S. and Philippine navies started the joint maritime training activity Sama Sama in the vicinity of Cebu, Philippines, on June 19. The week-long exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol,
India is set to host maritime forces from Japan and the U.S. for this year’s annual trilateral exercise Malabar. The 2017 edition of the exercise is scheduled to take place in the Bay of Bengal in mid-Summer. Malabar 2016 was hosted by Japan with the at sea phase taking place in the Philippine Sea.
A U.S. Marines helicopter fired flares at an Iranian patrol boat in the Strait of Hormuz after it shined a laser at the helicopter. The incident, which was deemed an unsafe encounter by U.S. officials, took place on Tuesday. In addition to the Marine CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopter, Iran
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta interdicted 260kg of heroin in the north Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa on June 8. This is the frigate’s third drug interception as part of operation Manitou. The drugs were intercepted after the ship’s embarked Seahawk helicopter detected the suspicio
After completing two-year overhaul in Portsmouth, Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster has trained with a number of Merlin Mk2 helicopters during her preparations to return to the fleet. The Type 23 frigate now has her own embarked Merlin, however, named Gatekeeper – for guardian to underworld from Gh
Pakistan’s defense ministry has signed a contract with Dutch ship designer Damen for the acquisition of a locally-built offshore patrol vessel (OPV). The contract was signed on June 12 during an event attended by navy and company representatives and Dutch ambassador to Pakistan Jeannette Seppen. Acc
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) is set to return to its homeport Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after completing a five-month deployment. While deployed to the Western Pacific under the U.S. 3rd Fleet Forward construct, Michael Murphy promoted se
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) is set to begin an independent deployment to the Western Pacific and South America, departing Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 13. Chafee has a crew of nearly 350 officers and enlisted sailors and is a multi-mission ship designed to oper
Belgian Navy’s multi-purpose frigate BNS Louise Marie departed Belgian naval base Zeebrugge on Monday to start her deployment to the European operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the course of the next 30 days, Louise Marie will be representing the Belgian contribution to the EU mission o
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) arrived in Zhanjiang, China, for a scheduled port visit on June 12. Sterett’s visit is the first U.S. Navy visit to Zhanjiang since 2015 and the first U.S. Navy visit to mainland China in 2017. “This visit is an exciting
Five ships from Australia, Japan, Canada and the U.S. met in the South China Sea on June 8 for two days of maneuvers and exercises. The exercise included JMSDF destroyers Izumo and Sazanami, RCN frigate HMCS Winnipeg, Australian frigate Ballarat and US destroyer Sterett. During the exercise, the shi
The U.S. Navy will receive its first deployable P-8A Poseidon trainers, allowing aircrew and operators to improve their mission readiness even while serving away from home. Under a recently signed contract, Boeing will provide seven Deployable Mission Readiness Trainers (DMRTs) to the Navy, starting
The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant returned to Naval Station Mayport on June 6 after seizing an estimated $147 million worth of cocaine. They also assisted in the removal of another $170 million of contraband interdicted by other Coast Guard cutters and apprehending 10 suspected drug smuggl
