The U.S. Navy and Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the first production contract for the air-launched variant of the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) on July 25. Worth $86.5 million, the contract will see the company deliver 23 missiles and engineering support. Low-rate initial production Lot 1
In one of Iran’s more daring challenges to U.S. Navy vessels operating in the Persian Gulf, an Iranian naval vessel came within 150 yards of a U.S. Navy ship forcing it to fire warning shots. According to the U.S. Central Command, coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt was operating in international wa
The UK Royal Navy announced an investment of £2 million for the expansion and modernization of Gibraltar’s ‘Windy Hill’ monitoring station. Sitting high above the Strait of Gibraltar, personnel at the monitoring facility keep an eye on 60,000 ships entering or leaving the Mediterranean, or crossing
The European Union migrant-rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea has been extended and will now run until December 31, 2018. EU leaders reached the agreement on July 25 after Italy curbed its protest against how the migrant crisis was being handled by other member states. The extension was expecte
Indian shipbuilder Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) launched two offshore patrol vessels for the Indian Navy at its shipyard in Pipavav on July 25. Named Shachi and Shruti, the OPVs are the first two of overall five planned ships in the class. The primary role of the NOPVs will be to
German Navy’s Frankenthal-class minehunter FGS Sulzbach-Rosenberg will be joining NATO’ Standing Mine Counter Measure Group 1 (SNMCMG1) operating in the Baltic and North Seas, the German Navy has announced. The minehunter is set to depart its home port of Kiel, Germany, on July 28 to spend the follo
Belgian Navy frigate BNS Louise Marie concluded her deployment to the EU-led migrant crisis operation in the Mediterranean Sea setting sail home on July 23. The multi-purpose frigate left operation Sophia after the scheduled 34 days of duties, despite calls for the frigate’s earlier withdrawal due t
The issue of the U.S. Navy’s electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) causing too much stress on F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft outfitted with wing-mounted, 480-gallon external fuel tanks (EFTs), has been resolved. According to an announcement from the U.S. Naval Air System
The recently-commissioned San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) returned to Naval Base San Diego, July 21, after completing final contract trials (FCT). The USS John P. Murtha was commissioned in October 2016 in Philadelphia and arrived at her San Diego homeport in
The U.S. Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), currently on its maiden deployment, completed the first connective replenishment (CONREP), as well as first replenishment-at-sea (RAS) and vertical replenishment (VERTREP) on July 19. The supplies were provided by the Military Seali
Less than a year after the German Bremen-class frigate FGS Karlsruhe returned from her last operational deployment, the navy announced it would sink the 35-year-old ship in upcoming tests. According to the navy, Karlsuhe will be detonated in the Baltic Sea sometime in 2018 after being fitted with va
The U.S. Navy future Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) completed builder’s trials on July 20 after spending four days underway in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command announced. Builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that a
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta returned to her home port of Fleet Base West in Rockingham, Western Australia, on July 23, completing the longest Middle Eastern deployment of an Australian Navy vessel since the first Gulf War. Senator for Western Australia, Linda Reynolds; Commander Austra
Authorities have reportedly surrounded and detained a ship chartered to obstruct migrant-rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel in question is the ‘C-Star’ and was chartered by an organization called Defend Europe which aims to prevent migrants reaching Europe through the Mediterranean
