Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey relieved Rear Adm. John Fuller as commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, during a pierside change of command ceremony, June 12, aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Vice Adm. John D. Alexander, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, presided over the ceremony and thanked Fuller for his effo
German Navy corvette FGS Magdeburg and minehunter FGS Bad Bevensen will be returning to their respective homeports on Friday, after completing separate international deployments. Corvette Magdeburg is returning to her homeport in Warnemünde after 13 months of operations as part of the Maritime Task
Ships from the Combined Maritime Force and EU NAVFOR staged a counter-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden early June, honing interoperability and coordination to combat piracy. EU NAVFOR ships and aircraft from Italy, Spain and Germany operated alongside US, Korean and Japanese warships of CMF from
The flagship of NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 hosted a team of scientists and engineers as they tested three new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) during international exercises. Engineers from NATO Science and Technology Organisation’s (STO) Centre for Maritime Research and Experi
Royal Netherlands Navy multi-purpose amphibious ship HNLMS Karel Doorman returned to her homeport in Den Helder on June 8, concluding a two-month deployment to the NATO-led operation Sea Guardian. HNLMS Karel Doorman supported the operation with 300 people on board. In addition to the helicopter det
The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a contract to provide lead yard services for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer program. The contract was announced June 8 and is valued at $49.8 million for the first year with four option years, with a total contract value of $
The US Coast Guard announced it has awarded a contract to Insitu Inc. to deliver small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for the service’s national security cutters (NSCs). Installations of sUAS on NSCs are planned at a rate of about two per year, the coast guard noted adding that the total value of
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
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
French and UK Royal Navy ships will be joining their US counterparts in challenging China’s territorial claims in disputed regions of the South China Sea, the two countries’ defense ministers have announced. The announcement was made at the Shangri La security dialogue in Singapore which was attende
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
French and UK defense contractors Thales and BAE Systems have teamed up with Canadian consulting company CGI for the second phase of the Royal Navy’s Maritime Electronic Warfare Programme (MEWP). MEWP is a UK defense ministry procurement program that aims to provide upgraded electronic warfare capab
RFS Yantar, the Russian Navy’s oceanographic vessel – also referred to as spy ship, underwater reconnaissance ship or seabed research ship – was escorted by several NATO ships as it transited the English Channel into the North Sea. Yantar was first escorted by a French Navy ship in the Bay of Biscay