Boeing has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for phase II of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II Infrared Search and Track (IRST) program for the US Navy. As explained by Lockheed Martin, the contract will see the company complete development, platform integration, flight test, and qualification of
US Navy ships deployed in support of the U Southern Command’s Enduring Promise initiative are scheduled to undertake interoperability and partnership exercises in Ecuador, Peru and Chile, the navy has said. Ships taking part in the initiative are amphibious transport dock USS Somerset (LPD 25) and g
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon has seized three tons of hashish in a Persian Gulf operation, the Royal Navy informed. The Portsmouth-based destroyer was on patrol in the Middle East when they came across a suspicious dhow – a type of vessel common to the Middle East – in a notorious drug sm
Rolls-Royce has been contracted to supply 18 of its MTU Series 4000 diesel generator sets which will be used to improve the reliability of Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer. The contract was awarded by BAE Systems who is the main contractor on the Power Improvement Project (PIP) which is being undertak
Months of rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Sea of Azov escalated on Sunday when Russian forces first fired upon and subsequently seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels as they were trying to enter the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Latest reports say six Ukrainian sailors were i
The UK Royal Navy has welcomed two major warships home from operations in Europe and Asia Pacific. On Friday, Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond returned home to Portsmouth after two months of operations in the Mediterranean while amphibious assault ship HMS Albion returned to Plymouth after a ten-month
US Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) arrived in Singapore on November 24 for a scheduled port visit. The carrier is visiting Singapore in company of guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), and guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111). John C. Stennis, Mobile Bay, and S
BAE Systems Australia, the main contractor in the Royal Australian Navy’s Hunter-class frigate acquisition project, announced that it has selected Lockheed Martin Australia and Saab Australia for combat system integration on the frigates. The decision further supports the development of an Australia
The Royal Navy is retaining its three Batch 1 River-class offshore patrol vessels for at least the next two years, UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson announced on November 22. The announcement follows the previous decommissioning of two of the ships in the class, HMS Severn in 2017 and HMS Tyne i
Royal Navy’s submarine-hunting Merlin helicopters recently left the flight deck of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for three weeks of exercises at the US Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). The ranges off Andros Island – south-west of Nassau – are centered on a natural
UK defense company BAE Systems announced it is investing £20 million into the development of augmented reality and artificial intelligence which will improve the capability of future combat systems. As explained by the company, the innovations will help naval personnel improve their decision making
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) got underway from its forward-deployed homeport of Naval Station Rota, Spain, On November 19 to start its eighth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations. Donald Cook deployed two days after sister ship USS Carney (
The Australian government has awarded Sydney-based unmanned systems developer Ocius a $1.7 million contract to explore the viability of an intelligent command and control network of persistent unmanned surface vessels. Awarded as part of the Australian Defence Innovation Hub initiative, the contract
US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) returned to its homeport of Naval Station Everett, Wash., November 21. While on deployment Shoup supported the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) and participated in exercise Valiant Shield 2018. OMSI is a secretary of defense initiative
