The US Navy and Australian Air Force kicked off the annual anti-submarine warfare exercise Sea Dragon on January 14. The multilateral exercise is based out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, with this year’s event running until Jan. 25. Participating US units will include Patrol Squadron (VP) 47, VP-
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat seized over 3.1 tons of hashish in the Arabian Sea during an operation that took place on January 8 and 9. The seized drugs are worth an estimated $155 million and are the first narcotics seized by a Combined Maritime Forces member in 2019. The fishing ves
The European Commission announced it would examine Fincantieri’s proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l’Atlantique (formerly known as STX France) following a request submitted by France and Germany. The transaction could harm competition at European and global level, the commission said adding that
An Indian Navy frigate reached a milestone recently as it became the first Indian warship to escort a vessel of UN’s World Food Program. INS Sunayna completed the escort for the first time since counter-piracy deployments began in 2008, following an escort request by EU NAVFOR. A WFP dhow was transp
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced it has been awarded a follow on task order (TO) to provide training-related products and services in a variety of disciplines to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), the Naval Force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center
The US state department announced on Friday it would support the development of Ukraine’s naval capabilities with $10 million in foreign military financing (FMF). FMF enables eligible nations to purchase US-produced military equipment, services, and training. The department said the investment was i
Papua New Guinea Defence Force’s new Pacific patrol boat Ted Diro has completed sea trials, one week after its delivery. The boat passed the initial sea-readiness evaluation with support from the Australian Navy’s Sea Training Unit – Defence Cooperation Program. Commander Sea Training Defence Cooper
Air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart, the first Royal Australian Navy Aegis-equipped ship, returned home after wrapping up weapons and systems trials with the United States Navy off the US West Coast. Hobart returned to Sydney after spending three months in the US. In addition to testing the Aegis syst
The US Coast Guard has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division two fixed-price incentive contracts for the construction of additional two National Security Cutters. The contract values for the a 10th and 11th ships in the program are $468.75 million for NSC 10 and $462.1
Thales and Aquabotix announced they are joining forces to design and develop a rapidly deployable mine counter measures (MCM), rapid environment assessment (REA) and military hydrographic autonomous system mission solution. The project is a collaboration with Australian Academia and SMEs including t
A ceremony to mark 60 years of service of German Navy sail training ship Gorch Fock has been postponed indefinitely amid a corruption probe related to the ship’s €135 million refit that is currently underway. In an announcement on December 11, the German Navy said a high-profile 60th anniversary cer
After making two narcotics interceptions in late November and early December, Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon has now carried out the largest drug haul in the history of the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). According to CMF, Dragon seized and destroyed just shy of 10,000 kg of illegal n
The navies of Australia, France and the US concluded a four-day ‘Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare Readiness and Evaluation Measurement’ (SHAREM) 195 exercise in the Arabian Sea on December 18. Participating ships included French navy F70AA-class air defense destroyer FS Cassard (D 614), and Royal Austral
The focus of the Royal Australian Navy’s 2019 Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE19) will focus on developing cooperation with the Indian Navy, Australian defense minister has announced. Engagement with India, one of Australia’s key strategic partners in the Indian Ocean region, will be the cornerstone for
