Operations
General Dynamics to carry out major overhaul of USS Essex
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
Russian Navy to launch new Kilo-class sub
Images: Russian Navy Russian Navy will launch its latest diesel-electric submarine Veliky Novgorod at the Admiralty Shipyards site in Saint Petersburg on March 18, the navy’s press center confirmed. Veliky Novgorod is the fifth vessel from the 636.3 project built by Admiralty Shipyards for the Black
Op Atalanta, Chinese Navy ships conduct joint training
Images: EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta warships met with their Chinese counterparts in the Indian Ocean to conduct joint training on February 27. Main focus of the training were air operations with the ships’ embarked helicopters. The Chinese ships, tanker CNS Taihu and frigate CNS Daquing, also conduc
HMAS Darwin ready for first Operation Manitou deployment
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin has started patrols under Operation Manitou having replaced sister ship HMAS Melbourne. The crew of HMAS Darwin has benefited from mission-specific training in the Kingdom of Bahrain, prior to setting out on the ship’s first p
USNS Grapple heads for African deployment
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
Royal Navy’s HMS Pembroke readies for NATO deployment
Royal Navy’s Sandown-class minehunter HMS Pembroke has been training off the west coast of Scotland for the past two weeks preparing to join NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 1. Crew 1 from the Royal Navy’s Faslane-based First Mine Counter Measures Squadron (MCM1) have been putting the shi
US carrier “Ike” completes INSURV material inspections
U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) successfully completed the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) Material Inspections, February 25. Due to operational requirements, this was Ike’s first INSURV in nearly 10 years with more than 1,400 of those days spent at sea. INSURV is
AOR Patiño celebrates 2000th replenishment at sea
Images: Spanish Navy Spanish Navy’s auxiliary oiler and replenishment (AOR) ship ‘Patiño’ (A-14) has carried out its 2,000th RAS, this time with the American destroyer USS Farragut. The ship is participating in the multinational exercise TGEX 216 off the coast of Florida, USA. The Patiño has recentl
US Coast Guard Cutter Forward returns from Caribbean patrol
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Forward returned to its homeport of Portsmouth, Virginia, on February 28, following a two-month patrol in the western and central Caribbean Sea. Forward’s patrol resulted in the seizure of more than 124 kilograms of cocaine and disruption of more than 1.3 tonnes of marijuana
HMAS Melbourne returns from Middle East deployment
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate HMAS Melbourne returned to her Sydney homeport on February 28 after 203 days of deployment and five narcotics seizures. In the five interceptions, the frigate seized a total of 977 kg of heroin valued at approximately $390 million. Melbou
NATO’s SNMG2 trains during Aegean patrol
NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) has been patrolling in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey since February 12, 2016. The group arrived in the area to participate in national and international efforts to cut the lines of illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean Sea, a
USS Maryland completes engineered refueling overhaul
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
Swedish Navy spotted foreign sub last year-Dagens Nyheter
A Swedish Navy surface ship spotted a periscope of an unknown submarine during military exercises in Swedish waters last year, local news site Dagens Nyheter reported. The news caught international attention because it happened only half a year after the 2014 major submarine hunt in the Stockholm ar
US Navy research vessel Sally Ride completes builder’s trials
R/V Sally Ride, U.S. Navy’s Auxiliary General Purpose Oceanographic Research Vessel (AGOR), completed builder’s trials, February 21, off the coast of Anacortes, Washington. Builder’s Trials for Sally Ride tested various shipboard systems and ensured readiness prior to conducting Acceptance Trials wi