UK’s defense procurement minister Guto Bebb on March 6 informed MPs that the UK defense ministry received the treasury approval to award a construction contract for the Royal Navy’s seventh Astute-class submarine. Negotiations are still ongoing, it was noted, and the new contingent liabilities assoc
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) entered a dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton on March 1, officially starting a 15-month overhaul. The carrier shifted from its homeport pier at Naval Base Kitsap to start the docking planned incre
US Navy ships from the USS Essex (LHD 2) amphibious ready group (ARG) got underway from Naval Base San Diego on March 5 to start the first Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise conducted by an ARG. The exercise is focused on advanced tactical training at sea to improve warfight
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha has arrived in Canada where she will undergo combat management system upgrades at Seaspan’s shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia. The 25-day passage to British Columbia was marked by a brief port visit in Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor where Te Kaha and her crew
The wreck of one of the first US Navy aircraft carriers has been located on the floor of the Coral Sea, 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The USS Lexington was discovered 3,000 meters (about two miles) below the surface by the expedition crew of research vessel (R/V) Petrel on March 4 –
US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) sailors and personnel are all set for seven days of bilateral exercises as part of exercise MultiSail 2018 which starts March 8. MultiSail is an annual bilateral training exercise that improves interoperability between US and Japanese forces. In
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga made another drug interception in the Arabian Sea intercepting eight tonnes of hashish aboard two vessels. The drugs, worth an estimated AU$400 million, were seized during an operation on March 3. Warramunga has now seized 19.5 tonnes of hashish and 1.5
The US Navy and US Coast Guard on March 2 released a request for proposal (RFP) for the advance procurement and detail design for the Coast Guard’s heavy polar icebreaker (HPIB) under an integrated program office (IPO). The RFP has options for detail design and construction for up to three HPIBs. A
US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) has wrapped up the navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) material inspection (MI). INSURV inspectors evaluate ships against navy standards to determine their overall combat readiness. INSURV is congressionally mandated for all navy ship
Three of Britain’s five ships permanently based in the Gulf joined the Americans and French as guests of the sultanate for the 23rd iteration of Khunjar Hadd (‘Sharp Dagger’). Minehunters draw their daggers in Omani exercise which tests the ability of the Omani Navy to work with warships from other
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in Vietnam on Monday, marking the first visit of a US aircraft carrier to the country after the end of Vietnam War in 1975. Carl Vinson and its 5,000 crew anchored two nautical miles off the port city of Danang for a four-day visit to the country. [&h
US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) got underway from her new homeport in Sasebo, Japan, to complete a pre-deployment readiness assessment before switching to operations as part of the ship’s first patrol in the Indo-Pacific region. Wasp is undergoing a Naval Surface Forces-led ready fo
German Navy’s Brandenburg-class frigate FGS Bayern is scheduled to get underway from her homeport of Wilhelmsaven on March 7 to start a six-month deployment to the Aegean Sea. During their time in the Aegean Sea, the frigate and her crew will operate as part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SN
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) departed the Black Sea on March 3, after conducting maritime security operations. The US Navy vessel entered the Black Sea in February 2018, joining sister ship USS Ross. Carney’s crew visited Varna for a scheduled port visit to st
