US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman returned home on December 16, becoming the first US Navy Nimitz-class carrier to complete a deployment under the new dynamic force employment concept. In all, the flattop spent some seven months on operations since first deploying from naval station Norfolk on
Royal Navy Type 23 frigates HMS Westminster and HMS Monmouth returned to their homeports in Portsmouth and Devonport, respectively, on December 14. Westminster returned after an eight-week stint in the North and Baltic Sea where she trained with other NATO and ally ships as part of NATO’s largest ex
The US Navy’s John C. Stennis carrier strike group (CSG) and the Essex amphibious ready group (ARG) commenced integrated operations in the Arabian Sea on December 12. While steaming, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Essex (LHD 2) are supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, providing armed suppo
Nearly 6,500 sailors from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) are scheduled to return to Naval Station Norfolk on December 16, after completing an eight-month deployment across the 2nd, 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. The returning units of HSTCSG include flagship USS Harry S. Tr
Although the US Navy and Marine Corps are working to rebuild the readiness of their forces while growing and modernizing their aging fleet of ships and aircraft, achieving readiness recovery goals will take years. This is due to the fact that both services continue to be challenged to rebuild readin
The Indian Navy’s hydrographic survey ship INS Sarvekshak arrived at the Port Louis Harbour in Mauritius on December 11, 2018. The ship will operate in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Mauritius for about two months to carry out joint hydrographic and oceanographic surveys for the production of
The Pakistan Navy has launched a new survey vessel in China. The launching ceremony was held at Dajin Heavy Industry shipyard on December 11, 2018. The 3,000-ton newbuilding was launched into Yangtze River. As explained, this is the largest survey vessel to be built for the Pakistan Navy under Sino-
HMS Medway, the second of the Royal Navy’s next-generation patrol ships, will debut in Portsmouth in the New Year after completing her maiden sea trials. The offshore patrol vessel (OPV) spent 15 days in the Firth of Clyde testing her engines, maneuverability, sensors and main cannon under a mixed c
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and US Navy sailors have conducted an on-land ballistic missile defense system test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii. During the test, the Lockheed Martin-built Aegis Weapon System engaged and intercepted an intermediate range ballistic m
The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed a Live Fire With A Purpose (LFWAP) exercise on December 6. Two Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Warfare Tactics Instructors (WTI) led teams aboard Abraham Lincoln through LFWAP. They’ve spent the last month w
The Royal Saudi Naval Force (RNSF) has handed over command of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), one of three task forces operated by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Commodore Darren Garnier of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) officially assumed command of CTF 150 on
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon has seized £1.6m of narcotics on the infamous ‘smack track’ – the heroin smuggling route between the Makran Coast of Iran and Pakistan and East Africa. Less than two weeks after seizing three tons of cannabis on the so-called ‘hash highway’, the Portsmouth-bas
San Pedro-based fast response cutter (FRC) returned to its homeport on December 8 following a two-week patrol that included the ship’s first drug bust, the US Coast Guard said. The crew of the recently commissioned FRC Forrest Rednour interdicted approximately 1,000 pounds of marijuana from a suspec
The future USS Billings (LCS 15), the US Navy’s new Freedom-variant ship, has completed its acceptance trials in the waters of Lake Michigan. They were completed on December 7 after a series of graded in-port and underway demonstrations on the Great Lakes for the Board of Inspection and Survey. “The
