Pacific Partnership 2016 (PP16) kicked off in Da Nang, Vietnam on July 15, for the third consecutive year, with the arrival of the U.S. hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and the Japanese Navy ship JSDS Shimokita (LST-4002). This year, the Vietnam People’s Navy ship Khanh Hoa is also participating.
German Navy tender Elbe departed her homeport in Warnemünde, Germany on July 14 to meet up with Estonian and Lithuanian ships before they join NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 1 (SNMCMG1). The tender is to meet with the Estonian minehunter Sakala and the Lithuanian patrol boat Skalvis in Ki
Military Sealift Command’s civilian crewed fleet replenishment oiler, USNS John Lenthall (T-AO 189) returned to Naval Station Norfolk on July 13 following an eight-month deployment. Steaming 45,575 nautical miles, Lenthall conducted 144 underway replenishments, delivered nearly 21 million gallons of
Some 50 submarine officers and civilian contractors from seven countries worked together in a Rim of the Pacific 2016 submarine rescue tabletop exercise held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, July 12. The tabletop exercise preceded a practical submarine rescue exercise conducted by the U.S. and Chi
American Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg Defence Systems are finalizing plans to assemble, integrate and test the Naval Strike Missile at Raytheon’s missile plants in Tuscon, United States. The two companies also plan to produce NSM launchers in the U.S., a press release said July 13. The U.S. Navy
Taiwan has sent a stealth frigate to patrol the Spratly Islands region in the South China Sea following the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in the maritime jurisdiction case brought against China by the Philippines. A Kangding-class frigate was sent to the region on July 13 with Taiwanese Pres
Delivery of the U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has once again been delayed as the ship will not be delivered to the navy before November 2016. Back in April 2016, it was said the ship would be ready for delivery by September 2016. The U.S. Navy did not specify why exactly [&h
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), together with its carrier strike group (Ike CSG), entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, July 8. The carrier, accompanied by embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) and guided-missile cruiser
The keel laying ceremony of the Logistic Support Ship (LSS) was held today at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Riva Trigoso (Sestri Levante, Genoa). Construction works continue on the first unit of the renewal plan of the Italian Navy’s fleet, which has been commissioned to Fincantieri. The vessel will be
Although USS Michigan (SSGN 727) only moved a few dozen yards July 8 when it left Dry Dock 2 for nearby Pier 5, the brief journey was a major step forward for the sub, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), and the U.S. Navy. Michigan’s undocking marked th
Amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) pulled into Augusta Bay, Sicily for a scheduled port visit July 11. The stop offers Whidbey Island the opportunity to resupply, and is the first foreign port visit for the ship’s Sailors and embarked Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary
United States president Barack Obama on July 10 paid a visit to Spain and U.S. Naval Station Rota on his return home from the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland. Obama spoke to more than 2,000 American and Spanish service members and their families during his visit. The president visited USS Ross (DDG 71
Britain has announced that it would send an offshore patrol vessel to the Aegean Sea where NATO vessels are already engaged in gathering intelligence and patrol the waters between Greece and Turkey with the aim of preventing migration and smuggling. During the NATO summit in Warsaw Defence Secretary
Polish frigate ORP General Tadeusz Kosciuszko joined Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) on July 7. The former U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, one of two in the Polish Navy, will spend the next few months under NATO flag providing support to NATO maritime activities. ORP General Tade
