Britain’s flagship paid a surprise visit to the German port of Kiel when ice stopped her sailing into Hamburg. The threat of being stuck on the Elbe thanks to the cold snap dominating Europe led to HMS Bulwark visiting the home of the German Fleet instead as she begins her winter deployment. Ice on
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Feb. 15 the next five Navy ships; three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, USS John Finn, USS Ralph Johnson, and USS Rafael Peralta, and two littoral combat ships (LCS), USS Sioux City and USS Omaha. Mabus named the three destroyers after Navy an
HMS Argyll led Britain’s participation in a major exercise in the Gulf aimed at protecting the region’s critical oil infrastructure. The frigate joined US and Kuwaiti forces on the annual Stakenet exercise which hones the skills of coalition naval units to protect oil and gas installations in the re
Russian Government began debates on a draft amendment to Strategy 2020; the changes are related to restructuring of the federal budget’s disbursement section, writes Vedomosti on Feb 14. According to the newspaper referring to sources in the government, it is supposed to curtail expenses for securit
Results from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 performance-based board for continuation of senior enlisted (SECB) were posted in Bupers Online (BOL) for individual Sailors access, according to NAVADMIN 054/12, released Feb. 14. More than 7,000 senior enlisted Sailors reviewed by the FY-12 performance-based
High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 arrived at Naval Station (NS) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to receive supplies in support of Operation Handclasp, Feb. 14. NS Guantanamo Bay served as the consolidation point for receiving, storing, and staging more than 160 pallets of donated humanitarian aid products and ma
Commander in Chief of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of the People’s Republic of China ADM Wu Shengli on Feb 14 met with his Ukrainian counterpart ADM Viktor Maksimov who is visiting Beijing. As for Wu Shengli, China pays great attention to development of bilateral relations between Chines
Baltic Fleet (BF) frigate Yaroslav Mudry on Feb 10 left the Russian Navy carrier group led by aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov and laid a course for Baltiysk. The ship left the homebase on Dec 7, 2011 and has covered over 15,000 nautical miles. The crew has carried out antiaircraft and an
The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation $37 million for the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) production and limited deployment phase. The contract includes options that would raise the cumulative value of the contract to $638 million, if all options are exe
Strategic nuclear-powered submarines SSBN Severstal and SSBN Arkhangelsk (Project 941 Akula, on NATO’s classification – Typhoon) will remain in service in the nearest future; missiles for them are maintained operable, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky told RIA Novosti. Projec
Sailors and Marines from Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) departed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) after successfully completing a 30-day underway period in the Atlantic Ocean Feb. 9. CVW-1 and Enterprise spent the past month participating in a Composite Training Unit Exercise, a joint task force
Northern Fleet (NF) warships – aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and large ASW ship Admiral Chabanenko – are pursuing a northern course to continue cruise through the North Atlantic towards home base. Prior to that, the ships have replenished supplies from auxiliary vessels in the Moray Firth. Unde
The next Independence variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named the USS Gabrielle Giffords, said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus last week. The selection of Gabrielle Giffords, designated LCS 10, honors the former Congresswoman from Tucson, Ariz., and who is known for supporting the military
Guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) are in Sattahip, Thailand, supporting the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 (CG12) Feb. 7-17. CG12 is a Thai-U.S. co-sponsored multinational, multiservice exercise that will i