Ships, submarines and aircraft from Japan, US and India have kicked off the 22nd edition of the now trilateral naval exercise Malabar. The exercise runs from June 7 through June 16. Malabar 2018 is the first time the exercise has been conducted off the coast of Guam, and the latest in a continuing s
Royal Australian Navy ships deployed as part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018 (IPE18) program arrived in Vanuatu for their deployment’s first port visit. Before entering Port Vila on Wednesday, oiler HMAS Success completed officer of the watch manoeuvres with the Vanuatu Police Force vessel RVS To
Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the 29th fast response cutter (FRC), Forrest Rednour, to the US Coast Guard in Key West, Florida. The cutter will be the first FRC stationed in San Pedro, California, and will be commissioned this fall. Petty Officer 2nd Class Forrest Rednour, the cutter’s namesake,
German Navy corvette FGS Erfurt was prevented from taking part in the US Navy-led BALTOPS drill in the Baltic Sea after damaging her propeller in an earlier exercise. Erfurt had been part of the NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) since February this year and was close to the end of her deploymen
The Royal Navy and Air Force welcomed their first F-35B Lightning II fighter jets as they landed at RAF Marham in Norfolk on June 6. The aircraft arrived in the UK following a one-day delay caused by adverse weather conditions over the Atlantic which complicated the necessary aerial refueling proced
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded BAE Systems a $36.6 million contract for the modernization and maintenance work on the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67). The Cole will undergo one year of extensive work at the company’s shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia,the ship’s homeport. The con
Royal Australian and New Zealand Naviy personnel took part in a week long exercise recently honing their skills in responding to piracy activities on commercial shipping surrounding fictitious countries in the Tasman Sea. Exercise Goanna 18 drew on lessons learnt from RAN and RNZN deployments in dom
The Israeli Navy last week concluded a drill aimed at testing its vessels’ ability to respond to an attack on one of the country’s offshore oil and gas platforms. The drill was led by the Haifa-based 3rd (missile boat) flotilla and joined by Sa’ar 4,5 corvette INS Kidon and Sa’ar 5 corvette INS Laha
The Finnish defense ministry has awarded Kongsberg Maritime a contract to deliver its ST2400 variable depth sonar (VDS) for the Hamina-class missile boats. The contract was awarded to Kongsberg as part of the Squadron 2000 mid-life upgrade (MLU) program which will extend the missile boats’ service l
BAE Systems has received a contract to produce payload tubes for two of the US Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines to support increased firepower on the Block V version of the attack subs. Under the contract with General Dynamics Electric Boat, a builder of the Virginia class, BAE Systems will deli
US Navy pilots from Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1), embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), are training with the Italian Air Force in integrated flight operations taking place from May 28 to June 7. The exercise features F/A-18s from CVW-1’s four fighter squadrons, which integrated with Italian
Royal Navy destroyer and NATO SNMG2 flagship HMS Duncan has rescued two Algerian fishermen who had been stranded at sea for four days. A lookout from the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer noticed the men’s boat by chance in the western Mediterranean – and the warship immediately offered food, fuel
Karel Doorman-class frigate BNS Louise-Marie F931 recently became the first Belgian Navy ship to fire the Harpoon anti-ship missile during live firing drills off Norway. The event, which took place off Tromsø, Norway, from May 28 to 31, was captured on video and shared by the Belgian Navy. Though th
Exercise Malabar, the trilateral naval drill taking place off the coast of Guam, will feature a total of 12 warships – including aircraft and helicopter carriers – and two submarines. The lineup for the maneuvers could have been even more impressive had the Royal Australian Navy been allowed to join
