The U.S. Coast Guard will decommission the high endurance cutter Boutwell during a ceremony held at Naval Base San Diego, March 16. The cutter has been in service for 48 years and will now be transferred to the Philippine Navy under the Foreign Military Sale Program through the Foreign Assistance Ac
Canadian Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced the signing of two contracts with Seaspan worth $65.4 M under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) for Vancouver Shipyards Co. The two new contracts will allow Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. to initiate early discussions with pote
Information solutions company CACI International announced March 10 that it has been awarded a contract to support the U.S. Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command Business Systems Center (NAVSUP BSC). The five-year contract which, if all options are exercised, could amount to $809 million, represents n
U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded BAE Systems a two-year contract to support its Special Communications Mission Solutions Division with a range of technical services. Under the contract, valued at $34 million, BAE Systems will support and maintain the life c
The Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Rob Kramer visited U.S. Navy’s dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry during exercise Cold Response 2016 on March 8. Cold Response is a biennial Norwegian exercise featuring maritime, land and air operations to underscore NATO’s ability to defend against any threat i
The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems’ San Diego shipyard a $28,243,900 contract to carry out selected restricted availability work on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76). An SRA includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that wi
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to begin conducting counter illicit trafficking operations in support of Operation Martillo, March 2. Operation Martillo (Spanish for “hammer”) is a U.S., European and Wester
U.S. Navy’s 14th Virginia-class submarine, USS Washington (SSN 787), was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries on March 5. Ship sponsor Elisabeth Mabus, daughter of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, smashed a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to ma
USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), a U.S. Navy Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship homeported in Mayport, Florida, is participating in Exercise Cold Response 2016. Fort McHenry will be the only U.S. Navy vessel participating in this operation, providing support for U.S. Marines as well as Navy constructi
The new LX(R) line of U.S. Navy amphibious combat ships could be built faster than the LPD line and could be procured as early as 2018, a U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing indicated on March 2. U.S. Senator Thad Cochran chaired the hearing to review the FY2017 budget request fo
The U.S. Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center has awarded General Dynamics a contract for the phased maintenance availability (PMA) of USS Essex (LHD-2). Under the $156,5 million contract, GD will plan and perform depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications on the U.S. Navy’s amp
USNS Grapple, U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command ship, departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach on February 29 to begin its deployment to Africa in the 6th Fleet’s area of operations. With a crew of approximately 45 U.S. Navy divers and Civil Service mariners, Gr
U.S. Navy has awarded Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of the American shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, a contract to assist with planning for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). The $185.2 million contract option funds the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard completed the engineered refueling overhaul (ERO) on U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine has USS Maryland (SSBN 738) on February 24. EROs are complex, major shipyard availabilities that extend a submarine’s service life. In addition to being refueled, The U.S. N