Obangame Express, an exercise sponsored by US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and designed to improve regional cooperation, kicked off on March 21 with an opening ceremony in Libreville, Gabon. The annual exercise aims to enhance maritime domain awareness (MDA), information-sharing practices, and tactical
Royal Canadian Navy’s Victoria-class submarine HMCS Chicoutimi returned to her homeport in Esquimalt March 21 after a 197-day deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. Her deployment was a historic one in that it marked the first time in nearly 50 years that a Canadian submarine operated in the region.
US Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) made its first mission stop as part of Pacific Partnership 2018 on March 20 to offload medical supplies in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). This is the first official engagement of Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18), where the Merc
The US Navy has issued a two-ship buy Request for Proposal (RFP) to Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NNS) for Ford-class carriers CVN 80 and CVN 81 looking to get more details on potential cost savings which could be achieved with a two-ship buy. The RFP was issued by U
US Navy’s World War II Atlanta-class light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) was located off the coast of the Solomon Islands in South Pacific by the crew research vessel (R/V) Petrel. R/V Petrel, which was acquired by Microsoft co-founder and investor Paul Allen and fitted with subsea equipment capable of
US Navy sailors and personnel embarked aboard expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) for exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18) departed Guam on March 19 en route to Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, which will be the first mission stop for USNS Brunswick. Pacific Partnershi
The littoral combat ship (LCS) mission modules (MM) program completed developmental testing (DT) of the coastal mine reconnaissance (CMR) mission module aboard USS Coronado (LCS 4) off the coast of Southern California February 22, the US Navy said. Consisting of the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial
The US Navy’s expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) will be not be able to deploy for a scheduled mission in the Asia Pacific because of further maintenance requirements, the US Navy has announced. Fall River was set to take part in the humanitarian and disaster response-prepar
US Navy and Coast Guard units joined Iraqi Navy and Kuwait Naval Force and Coast Guard vessels for a trilateral exercise (TRILAT) in the Persian Gulf. The exercise concluded on February 22 and was the third of its kind executed since March 2017. The exercise was led by Task Force (TF 55) and is part
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command-operated hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in the US 7th Fleet area of operations on March 10 to serve as a platform for exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18). PP18 is scheduled to have more than 800 US military personnel stationed worldwide, workin
The US Navy has officially started Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018 in the Arctic Ocean. The exercise was kicked off with the construction of temporary Ice Camp Skate and the arrival of two US Navy fast-attack submarines and one UK Royal Navy submarine on March 7. ICEX 2018 is a five-week biennial exercise
US Navy ships from the USS Essex (LHD 2) amphibious ready group (ARG) got underway from Naval Base San Diego on March 5 to start the first Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise conducted by an ARG. The exercise is focused on advanced tactical training at sea to improve warfight
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha has arrived in Canada where she will undergo combat management system upgrades at Seaspan’s shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia. The 25-day passage to British Columbia was marked by a brief port visit in Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor where Te Kaha and her crew
The wreck of one of the first US Navy aircraft carriers has been located on the floor of the Coral Sea, 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The USS Lexington was discovered 3,000 meters (about two miles) below the surface by the expedition crew of research vessel (R/V) Petrel on March 4 –
