US Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) departed Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on March 24 for another round of trials ahead of its scheduled deployment. The carrier returned to sea after completing flight operations, damage control and seamanship training in January this year. John C. S
A German P-3C Orion maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) and its crew have returned to Djibouti to rejoin the fight against piracy as part of the EU NAVFOR-led operation Atalanta. The P-3C, its crew and supporting staff deployed to the Horn of Africa area of operations on March 23 to w
French shipbuilder Naval Group recently announced the selection of first equipment suppliers for the five future intermediate-size frigates (FTI) to be built for the Marine Nationale. As part of the framework construction contract awarded to Naval Group by the French Defence Procurement Agency in Ap
US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed fleet carrier qualifications (CQ) for the F-35C Lightning II program over a five-day period in the Atlantic Ocean. The US Navy said the milestone was achieved while the carrier was underway between March 17-21. Pilots ass
Construction of a new naval testing facility at the Portsdown Technology Park (PTP) in Portsmouth, UK, is set to begin soon, UK defense technology company Qinetiq announced as it unveiled the facility’s design. Together with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Qinetiq is investing £23m in
US Navy’s Hawaii-homeported destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and embarked US Coast Guard personnel started joint maritime security patrols in the Western Pacific on March 26. The destroyer’s mission is part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) which is designed to reduce and elim
French defense and technology company Thales worked with the Royal Navy recently to see if upgrades in submarine sonar systems could be applied on towed array sonars used on surface ships such as the Type 23 frigates. Sonar 2076 is the Royal Navy’s major sonar platform on all submarines, while the T
The US Navy is set to commission its 64th Arleigh Burke destroyer in a ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday, March 24. The future USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) is the 30th DDG 51 class destroyer built by the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard and the first warship named for Me
US Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) arrived at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, for a visit as part of its Indo-Pacific deployment. The ship arrived in Okinawa on March 22 following a week of unit-level training at sea. Bonhomme Richard’s crew has cond
An Indian Navy Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed soon after taking off from the naval air base in Porbandar, Gujarat, in the morning hours of March 22, 2018. There has been no injuries or casualties following the incident, the Indian Navy said on Twitter. “The UAV crashed in an open ground
Royal Canadian Navy’s Victoria-class submarine HMCS Chicoutimi returned to her homeport in Esquimalt March 21 after a 197-day deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. Her deployment was a historic one in that it marked the first time in nearly 50 years that a Canadian submarine operated in the region.
The UK defense ministry has awarded a £160 million (approx. $226.5m) contract to a BAE Systems-led team to resolve the power and propulsion system issues experienced by Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers. The Power Improvement Project (PIP) will improve the resilience of the Type 45 class by installing
US Navy’s Harpers-Ferry class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) and the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) wrapped up their 15-day stay in the Black Sea, transiting the Bosphorus to return to the Mediterranean Sea on March 22. During their time in the Black Sea, US Navy sailors and
Search and rescue experts aboard Royal Navy survey ship HMS Echo recently trained with their Cypriot counterparts sharing their experience with the island’s rescue teams for the first time. The Plymouth-based survey ship has been assigned to the Mediterranean since the tail end of 2016; her crew hav
