The Mexican Navy has received the first of ten AS565 MBe Panther helicopters it purchased from Airbus in 2014. Airbus said three other units would be delivered before the end of the year and the remaining six by early 2018. The helicopters will be operated by the naval aviation in the Gulf of Mexico
U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Sept. 30, following a port call which included participation in the Secretary of Defense’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference. While moored in Pearl Harbor, Fort Worth participated in
A team from the Australian Navy’s unmanned aircraft systems unit have deployed to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, to test their ability to conduct long term UAS operations without support. The six member detachment is operating from the island’s aerodrome, testing the
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) was assisted by the Sri Lanka navy in an emergency medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) September 30 to help a sailor in need of medical attention. According to the U.S. Navy, Hopper notified Commander, Destroyer Squadron (CDS) 15 that a sailor aboard
After completing the Canadian-hosted anti-submarine exercise, Cutlass Fury 16 on September 23, U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley proceeded to take part in the multi-national exercise Frontier Sentinel 16 (FS16) just three days later, from September 26 to 28. FS16 was a full-scale, live
Navy ships and personnel from eight European countries are set to begin the second European amphibious exercise Emerald Move 2016 (ERMO) off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia on Monday, October 3. The ERMO 16 is an undertaking of the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI), an organization wh
U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) departed Hawaii for a 16-month rotational deployment to the 7th Fleet after spending a month in port for repairs on the ship’s propulsion plant. Coronado set sail for Singapore in August to replace the Freedom-variant LCS USS Fort Worth which was a
Royal Navy’s amphibious flagship HMS Bulwark joined RFA Mounts Bay and MV Eddystone in Gibraltar in what was the first port visit of the Royal Navy’s inaugural Joint Expeditionary Force Task Group deployment. The group departed the British overseas territory September 26 and will be joined, at vario
French shipbuilder DCNS has informed that the fourth French Navy FREMM frigate, FS Auvergne, started sea trials on September 26. Auvergne left the shipyard just days after DCNS launched the fifth of overall eight frigates the French Navy is to acquire. In its first out at sea, the new frigate will s
Several days after the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was cleared for low-rate initial production, the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Northrop Grumman two contracts to produce the aircraft. The first contract, valued at $255.5 million, will see Northrop Grumman manufacture three
A U.S. Navy helicopter squadron made history earlier in September when the MQ-8B unmanned helicopter they operated successfully tracked a target and served as a laser designator for an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter to fire an AGM-114N Hellfire missile The Northrup Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout detected targe
U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was authorized for low-rate initial production approval following a successful Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) led review. This decision marks the beginning of the production and deployment phase of the U.S Department of Defense acquisition
Austrian unmanned air system manufacturer Schiebel and German defense contractor Diehl Defence have renewed a teaming agreement which would allow Schiebel’s defense products to enter the German market. One particular goal of the collaboration is to market Schiebel’s vertical take-off and landing UAS
The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing and Lockheed Martin $43 million contracts for further work on the Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray unmanned carrier aviation air system. Under the latest contract, the companies asked to refine concepts and develop the trade space for requirements generation before the project
