Royal Navy’s Sea King Mk7 airborne surveillance and control helicopters have joined HMS Ocean in the Gulf to practise in preparation for Merlin helicopters that will succeed the Sea Kings as the carrier’s ‘flying eyes’. After years over the sands of Afghanistan – where their radars proved vital in t
U.S. Navy sailors from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group will arrive at their homeports December 30 following a seven-month deployment to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. More than 6,000 sailors will return home just in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations. The aircraft carrie
Canada has taken command of the Combined Maritime Forces’ counter-piracy task force operating in the Middle East region. Commodore Haydn C. Edmundson of the Royal Canadian Navy assumed command on Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 after conducting a change of command ceremony with the Pakistan Navy on De
The U.S. Navy’s Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with embarked marines departed the 7th Fleet area of operations after concluding several port visits and exchanges with partner militaries on November 30. By doing so, the Makin Island ARG is joining the Wasp ARG and the USS Dwight D. Eisenho
Royal Navy Commodore Andrew Burns, commander of Amphibious Task Group embarked on the U.K.’s HMS Ocean (L 12), took command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force (CTF) 50 in the Arabian Gulf, November 25. This marks the first time a Royal Navy officer has led a U.S. task force in the Mid
Minehunters from the US and UK kicked off the mine countermeasures exercise 17-1 in the Persian Gulf with a photographic exercise formation on October 19. The bilateral exercise encompassed the full spectrum of mine countermeasures (MCM) from mine detection and identification to mine clearance with
Guided missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) has launched Tomahawk missiles against Yemen’s Houthi fighters in response to repeated anti-ship missile launches at U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason. In the morning hours of October 13, USS Nitze struck and destroyed three radar sites in Houthi-controlled te
USS Mason (DDG-87) is a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer equipped with a range of combat systems providing it with capabilities for surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare. The ship also features Raytheon’s anti-ship missile defense systems including the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile
In late August, the US Navy staged an anti-submarine warfare drill in the Arabian Sea which was joined by British, French and Australian Navy assets. Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Perth joined USS Nitze and USS Mason which also had MH-60R flights embarked. Also involved were the Los Angeles cla
European missile developer MBDA signed a contract with the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) for the supply of a coastal defense system to the Middle East country. According to MBDA, the coastal missile system will deploy two different munitions, Marte ER (the Extended Range version of the Marte miss
The Israel-based defense electronics company Elbit Systems announced August 15 it has developed a new autonomous Mini Unmanned Aircraft System (Mini-UAS) specifically designed and built for martime applications. Based on the already operational Skylark I Mini UAS, the new Skylark C transforms and ex
U.S. Navy’s amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), with embarked U.S. Marines of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), transited the Suez Canal and entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations on August 7. Navigating the 120-mile-long canal is no easy task, requiring hours of
Israeli defense company Elbit Systems recently completed a trial test torpedo launch from its Seagull multi-mission, autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) system in Israel’s Haifa port. The trial demonstrated the capability of Seagull to install and launch light weight torpedoes, adding to the ca
The Qatari Ministry of Defence has chosen the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri over the rival French DCNS for its €4 billion euro national naval acquisition program. Fincantieri and the Qatari Ministry of Defence signed the contract for the construction of seven new units overall in Rome, Ital
