During the last week, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warships FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado have carried out several ‘Friendly Approaches’ in the Gulf of Aden. In addition to patrols in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocea
In a combined French and Australian operation, naval ships seized and destroyed almost 650 kilograms of cannabis resin hidden aboard a smuggling skiff in the Red Sea. After HMAS Darwin intercepted the skiff, her boarding party discovered the cannabis resin in 120 plastic packages concealed in hess
The U.S. Dod issued contract modifications yesterday to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of two fiscal year 2014 Littoral Combat Ships each. The amount of funds added under the block buy c
Austal Limited (Austal) has been awarded a contract from a naval customer in the Middle East for the design, construction and integrated logistics support of two 72 metre High Speed Support Vessels (HSSVs). The value of the contract is approximately US$124.9 million. Austal will construct the HSSV
Republic of Korea Ship (ROKS) Won San has rolled out the red carpet for Royal Australian Navy sailors during the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Counter Measures and Diving Exercise 2014 (MCMEX 14) in New Zealand. Members of the Australian MCM Diving Detachment, drawn from HMAS Diamant
Russia Sinks Ship to Block Ukrainian Navy Ships The Russian Navy Ochakov Kara-class cruiser was sunk last night to block the Ukrainian Navy ships deployed in Novoozerne, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in a press release today. The information was confirmed by the Ukrainian military of the So
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Company $350 million to increase its procurement of Standard Missile-3 Block IB missiles from 8 to 44. The additional funding increases the FY14 award to $506 million for the procurement of 44 Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missiles. The SM-3 is desi
During FS Siroco’s port visit to the Seychelles, 20 trainees from the Basic Training course for the Seychelles Coast Guard embarked for electronic navigation equipment training. The training was supported by staff from EUCAP Nestor. The trainees received practical and theoretical instruction in ho
A recent Operation Atalanta medal parade held in Djibouti marked the end of the Serbian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachments (AVPD) tenure with the EU Naval Force. The Operation Atalanta medal parade was conducted by the Officer in Charge of the Djibouti Support Element Atalanta (SEA) Commande
The U.S. Navy Department’s fiscal year 2015 budget request reflects tough, but responsible choices, a senior Navy official said at a Pentagon news conference on Wednesday. The budget request is part of the $495.6 billion defense budget proposal the U.S. President Barack Obama submitted to Congress
Only 10 days into her operational deployment, HMAS Darwin, in cooperation with Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Ship MSS Nusrat, has come to the rescue of 13 fishermen found adrift at sea off Pakistan. The men were discovered last Saturday, 1 March. The men, who claimed to be Iranian nationals, s
The U.S. Department of the Navy released its proposed $148 billion budget for fiscal year 2015 (FY15), March 4. The budget is part of the $495.6 billion defense budget U.S. President Barack Obama submitted to Congress the same day. Rear Adm. William Lescher, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
The Ukrainian Navy’s flagship Hetman Sahaydachny passed through the Dardanelles Tuesday steaming her way toward the Black Sea, as informed by the Ukrainian Government yesterday. The frigate met up with the Turkish boat Ruşen Bey in the strait and soon passed through the Bosporus and entered the wa
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has received a $1.295 billion extension to a previously awarded construction preparation contract for the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). The contract extension enables Newport News to complete an additional 343 structura
