Spanish shipbuilder Navantia announced it has received a contract extension for the maintenance of four US Navy destroyers forward-deployed to the Spanish Navy base Rota. The original contract first entered into force in November 2013 and includes one-year extension options until November 2020. Acco
US Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is ready to start Enduring Promise, an 11-week medical assistance mission conducted with host-nation health and government partners in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Honduras. Comfort is scheduled to depart Norfolk on October 11, en route to South America a
Ships and personnel from the US, Spain, Germany and France concluded the four-day Smart Defense Exercise (SMARTEX) on September 28. SMARTEX is a NATO initiative designed to enhance interoperability and training between participating countries. During the exercise, Spanish sailors embarked aboard the
Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan announced it has awarded Hawboldt Industries two contracts totaling CAD$8 million for work on Canada’s new Joint Support Ships (JSS). This is one of several contracts expected to be announced for Canadian suppliers supporting Seaspan’s work on naval supply ships under th
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond got underway from Portsmouth on September 29 for maritime security operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The Type 45 destroyer will provide reassurance to allies in the region throughout the autumn. The deployment follows a busy few months for HMS Diamond and her crew
The US Coast Guard transferred two of its decommissioned Island-class cutters to Ukraine in a ceremony at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, on September 27. The ceremony was attended by US Coast Guard Vice Adm. Michael McAllister, Ukrainian Navy chief Vice Adm. Ihor Voronchenko, and Ukraine’s presi
NATO’s operation Sea Guardian Special Operations Command Control Element (SOCCE) achieved full operational capability last week, NATO’s Maritime Command has announced. On September 20, under Maritime Command (MARCOM) guidance and SOCCE control, an opposed live boarding exercise commenced with the pa
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) cutter Seneca returned on September 25 to her homeport of Boston following a 50-day counter-drug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Seneca crewmembers and a tactical law enforcement detachment team conducted multiple interdictions while patrolling international
Polish Navy sailors assigned to frigate ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski recently used facilities at the Royal Navy training establishment HMS Raleigh ahead of their operational sea training. The former Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate is in Plymouth for six weeks of training with Flag Officer Sea Tra
The Indonesian Navy has recently deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an aerial magnetic range to determine a ship’s magnetic signature. According to UAV manufacturer ECA Group, this is the first time a navy has used a drone to assess a vessel’s vulnerability to underwater mines and other
The biennial multinational naval exercise NAIAS 2018 came to a close on September 21, after a week of maneuvers in the Aegean Sea. Participating units trained in multi-threat warfare events, including anti-asymmetric warfare, maritime interdiction and counter-terrorist events. The scenario of NAIAS
US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries has shared a video of US Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) receiving a new, modernized, radar tower during the ship’s refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH). USS George Washington is the sixth Nimitz-class ship to undergo this major life
The 2018-edition of the US Navy’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) provided a venue for industry and academia to demonstrate new navy technologies with a focus on interaction between humans and machines. Taking place at Naval Station Newport and the Narragansett Bay Test Facility (NBTF) at
A Japanese Oyashio-class submarine joined a number of other JMSDF units for an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) drill in the South China Sea last week. This is reportedly the first time that Japan’s defense ministry has confirmed the participation of a submarine in a drill in the disputed South China Se
