U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) departed Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor March 13, for its first strategic deterrent mission since 2011. Kentucky recently completed a 40-month Engineered Refueling Overhaul (ERO) to extend the life of the submarine for another 20 y
The U.S. Coast Guard on March 11 commissioned its 16th fast response cutter, Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after receiving the vessel in December 2015. The cutter is the fourth FRC stationed in San Juan. The other 12 FRCs in service are stationed in Florida – six in
Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark and the Royal Marines are warming up for a major Anglo-French exercise in the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea by learning and re-learning the basics of putting troops and their equipment ashore. The two-week exercise South West Sword runs through all th
Having completed their South China Sea patrol, sailors and ships from the U.S. Navy’s John C. Stennis Strike Group arrived in the Republic of Korea (ROK) for a scheduled port visit March 13. USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the guided-missile destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and USS Chung-Hoon (DD
Royal Navy personnel from HMS Excellent, a shore establishment of the Navy, will head to the Arabian Gulf where they will assume command of the Combined Task Force 150 next month. Part of Combined Maritime Forces, Combined Task Force 150 is policing more than two million square miles of sea on the l
Image, Video: Boeing American multinational aerospace company Boeing has introduced their latest unmanned, undersea vehicle (UUV), the Echo Voyager. The company said the drone submarine is able to operate autonomously for months at a time thanks to a hybrid rechargeable power system and modular payl
Ships and submarines participating in the NATO Submarine Command-led exercise Dynamic Manta have their drills on March 4. Spanish F-80 frigate Santa María arrived at her homeport in Rota Naval Base on March 10 after participating in the multinational exercise along with the French replenishment ship
On its way back from the Norwegian-hosted exercise Cold Response, Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke visited Oslo, Norway. The Portsmouth-based ship hosted the British ambassador and was welcoming the public on board during the weekend. HMS Iron Duke was berthed outboard of ESPS Cantabria fo
NATO’s Maritime Command gathered 160 participants from 19 countries, including Partnership for Peace (PFP) countries Finland and Sweden, for the annual two-week long Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) tactical-level Mine Counter Measure (MCM) Command Post Exercise (CPX) which started March 7. The exer
Images: Belgian Navy French Navy frigate Primauguet (D 644) docked in Zeebrugge, Belgium for a routine port visit on March 10 and is set to stay until March 13. The frigate was on its way back from the international exercise Cold Response 2016, which took place in Norwegian waters and hosted 20 wars
French Navy frigate FS Aconit (F713) has sailed to the Republic of Cyprus for a joint exercise that is taking place March 11 off the coast of Cyprus. The search and rescue (SAR) Exercise, titled CYPFRA-01/16, will involve search and rescue (SAR) units and personnel from the Republic of Cyprus and Fr
Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigate HMAS Parramatta, the sixth ship to enter the Anti-Ship Missile Defence Upgrade programme, is preparing to undock in mid April. The ship has been undergoing a range of modifications at the BAE Systems shipyard in Henderson, Australia over the past 12 months
Two Royal Navy minehunters, HMS Middleton and Bangor, left their base in Bahrain to join their United Arab Emirates counterparts, Al Hasbah and Al Murjan in Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s main port, where they conducted mine countermeasures exercises. Both navies will be taking part in the world’s biggest
U.S. Navy Video USS Porter (DDG 78), an Aegis-upgraded guided-missile destroyer, completed on March 4 a live-fire test from a SeaRAM missile system and became the first U.S. Navy destroyer to do so. SeaRAM, which replaced Porter’s Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) mount, is a self-contained dete
