US defense company Lockheed Martin has contracted naval architecture firm Gibbs & Cox for work on the functional design of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships. A derivative of the US Navy’s Freedom-variant littoral combat ships, Lockheed Martin’s MMSC was selec
US Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) visited Guam on January 9 while en route home. The San Antonio-class ship and the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are on the return leg of what is now a seven-month deployment after they deployed from San Diego in July 2017.
The US Southwest Regional Maintenance Center has awarded BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair an $18.8 million contract for the overhaul of US Navy cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59). The San Diego-homeported Ticonderoga-class cruiser is set to complete works under the selected restricted availability (SRA)
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) got underway from Naval Station Rota, Spain, on January 8, to start its sixth forward-deployed patrol in Africa and Europe. Ross completed its previous four-month patrol in July 2017. The 2017 patrol saw the destroyer take part
The US Navy’s future littoral combat ship USS Omaha (LCS 12) paid a four-day visit to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) en route to her San Diego commissioning site. During her visit to the installation, Omaha conducted public tours of the ship on January 4, providing residents and visitors of NSG
The modernized Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster was deployed on January 5 to keep watch on a Russian Navy task group transiting the English Channel and areas of UK interest, the Royal Navy said. The Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate remained at sea over the weekend to meet up with the Russian vesse
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney (DDG64) arrived at the Ukrainian Port of Odessa on December 8, three days after entering the Black Sea. This is the destroyer’s second Odessa visit within a year. In July last year, Carney pulled into Odessa before taking part in the international e
Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan got underway from naval base Portsmouth on December 8 to start her deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and the Royal Navy’s operation Kipion tasking. HMS Duncan is the first Royal Navy destroyer to deploy in 2018. The remaining five destro
The US State Department approved the sale of RGM-84L Harpoon Block II surface launched missiles, Block II Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) tactical missiles and MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes to the government of Mexico. Mexico requested the systems, worth an estimated $98.4 million, for use on the
UK defense contractor Babcock will be leading a team of industry partners in a bid for the Royal Navy’s new £1.25 billion Type 31e general purpose light frigate program, the company announced on Monday. According to the announcement, Babcock and Thales have joined forces with BMT, Harland & Wolff an
US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on January 6 entered the US 7th Fleet area of operations where it will replace USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) in Sasebo, Japan, as the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship. Wasp departed Norfolk Aug. 30 and is entering the US 7th Fleet after nearly
Seven months into her maiden operational deployment, US Navy amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) entered Guam on January 7 for a scheduled port visit. As the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands, Guam is the home to one of the US N
Construction works on China’s third aircraft carrier started at a Shangai shipyard in 2017, the South China Morning Post reported citing sources. The construction start closely follows the launch of the country’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Type 001A Shandong, which took place in
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and its carrier strike group will be the first to deploy in 2018, getting underway from San Diego on January 5. The strike group’s 6,000 sailors will deploy aboard four ships, including aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and the guided-missile
