Aviation
BAE Systems gets UK F-35B maintenance contract
The U.S. Department of Defense last week awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than £80m (US$102.2m) to deliver the initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II fleet over a three year period. Lockheed Martin has sub-contracted work worth £4
Greece kicks off annual international drill Ariadne 2017
Warships from eight nations arrived in Greece for the annual exercise Ariadne which will be taking place from March 31 to April 7. In addition to ships, naval officers from some ten countries will be attending the exercise in the Ionian Sea in the Gulf of Patras. NATO ships from the Standing Mine Co
Navantia launches fifth Buque de Acción Marítima ship for Spanish Navy
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia launched the Spanish Navy’s fifth BAM (Buque de Acción Marítima) ship on March 30 at its Cadiz-San Fernando shipyard. Named Audaz, (which translates to bold or audacious) the modular offshore patrol vessel is the fifth of overall nine units the Spanish Navy plans to acqu
Australian Navy hydrographic ship evacuates stranded tourists
Royal Australian Navy’s hydrographic ship HMAS Melville rescued over 400 stranded guests and staff from Daydream Island off Queensland, after tropical cyclone Debbie hit the region. The hydrographic ship was operating near Townsville when the cyclone hit the Whitsunday Islands, and followed the tail
Norway signs contract for five P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft
Norway’s plans to replace its ageing fleet of P-3 Orion and DA-20 Jet Falcon maritime patrol aircraft became official on Wednesday with the signing of a contract for the acquisition of the Boeing built P-8A. The contract for five aircraft was signed by the Norwegian defense equipment agency, on beha
US Coast Guard issues draft request for proposal for national security cutter UAS
The U.S. Coast Guard released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for procurement of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for the national security cutters (NSCs). Issued on March 28, the draft invites industry sources to comment, ask questions and provide feedback by May 15, 2017. The Coast Guard
US destroyer surface action group deploys to Western Pacific
The U.S. Navy’s Sterett-Dewey surface action group, composed of destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Dewey (DDG 105), is set to depart San Diego on March 31 to start their Western Pacific deployment. The destroyers are accompanied by command staff of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 31 and the embark
USS Coronado crew to be relieved after nine-month stint
The crew of the U.S. Navy’s Singapore-based littoral combat ship USS Coronado will be welcoming relief in April after spending nine months embarked on the ship. Littoral Combat Ship Crew 203 departed San Diego March 27 and will relieve Crew 204 in mid-April. Crew 204, the original Coronado crew whic
Reports: HMS Ocean offered for sale to Brazilian Navy
The UK Ministry of Defence has offered amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean for sale to the Brazilian Navy, the media in the South American country wrote. The UK Defence Journal first noted the reports which said the price of the helicopter carrier was deemed “reasonable” by Brazilian officials. Follow
Operation Atalanta flagship trains for medical emergencies off Somalia
The medical team on board the Spanish Navy landing platform dock ESPS Galicia, Operation Atalanta’s current flagship, recently carried out a helicopter casualty evacuation exercise as part of medical emergency readiness training. Sailors regularly conduct medical exercises at sea to ensure they rema
US Coast Guard cutter offloads $420 million worth of cocaine
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded some 16 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $420 million on Tuesday in Port Everglades. The cocaine was seized by U.S. and Canadian ships with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) team during a 26-day period in internationa
Nimitz carrier strike group in strait transit exercise
Ships from the U.S. Navy’s carrier strike group eleven took part in a show of force strait transit training exercise around San Clemente Island off the coast of Southern California, March 25. Princeton, along with aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers
US Navy cruiser deploys to Europe, Middle East
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 60 departed Naval Station Norfolk on March 27 for a six-month deployment to the Navy’s 5th and 6th fleet areas of operation. The Leyte Gulf crew went through a demanding training cycle in preparat
Dutch, Royal Navy ship in refueling maneuver in the Caribbean
Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker Wave Knight was leaving the Dutch Antilles territory of Curacao recently when she completed a replenishment at sea (RAS) in the Caribbean Sea with the Royal Netherlands Navy’s multi-purpose frigate, HNLMS Van Amstel. The maneuver was a return to basics for Wave Knight as