Operations
US Navy aircraft carrier completes LFWAP exercise
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
Royal Canadian Navy assumes command of Combined Task Force 150
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’s HMS Dragon seizes $2M worth of narcotics
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
FRC Forrest Rednour returns to homeport following 1st drug bust
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
Freedom-variant LCS Billings completes acceptance trials
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
French Navy frigates to feature Thales STIR radars
The French Navy plans to install seven tracking and illumination (STIR) radars on its frigates for their gun and missile fire control, defense technology company Thales said. As informed, five of the radars will be installed on board future intermediate-size frigates (FTI), and two will be placed on
EU NAVFOR celebrates a decade of operations
The European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) celebrated ten years of maritime operations on December 8. Commanded from its military HQ in Northwood, London, the European Union Naval Force was officially launched on December 8, 2008. Codenamed Operation Atalanta, it is a naval force generated by EU Mem
HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives back home
Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Portsmouth today following the completion of initial fast jet trials in America. The 65,000-ton carrier’s first transatlantic deployment, which began in August, saw her embark two F-35B Lightning II test aircraft, from the Integrated Test
USCG, Royal Canadian Navy seize $70M worth of cocaine
The US Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy offloaded more than 5,100 pounds of seized cocaine in San Diego on December 7. This follows a 49-day counterdrug patrol in the Eastern Pacific aboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Edmonton with an embedded US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment. Wor
USS Abraham Lincoln wraps up CSSQT
The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) has completed the testing of the ship’s defense capabilities during Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT). As explained, CSSQT tested Abraham Lincoln’s ability to operate onboard weapons systems, including the close-
US heavy icebreaker arrives in Pearl Harbor ahead of Antarctica mission
US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived in Pearl Harbor on Tuesday to make final preparations before sailing to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2019. The 42-year-old Coast Guard cutter is the United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker. The crew is scheduled to make their sixth
Babcock completes refit of Royal Navy survey vessel HMS Scott
Babcock’s Rosyth shipbuilders have wrapped up an overhaul of the Royal Navy’s ocean survey vessel HMS Scott, the company announced on Thursday. A 150-strong team – including welders, electricians, slingers, pipe workers, painters, commissioning engineers and fabricators – have worked on HMS Scott si
USS Iwo Jima home from Trident Juncture
US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) returned to her homeport of Mayport, Florida, Dec. 4, after nine weeks of operations in the northern Atlantic Ocean. As flagship of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), the ship returned to sea after completing a six-month deployment to part
US destroyer makes Sea of Japan FONOP in challenge to Russia
US Navy destroyer USS McCampbell carried out a freedom of operation in the Sea of Japan on December 5, in a move that is seen as a challenge to Russian territorial claims in the region. McCampbell sailed near the Peter the Great Bay which is claimed by Russia but not recognized as Russian territory