US Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) started sea trials on August 11 after completing its planned incremental availability (PIA). John C. Stennis entered PIA in February with the largest work package ever planned for a six-month availability for a Nimitz-class carrier, requiring mor
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) seized over 800 kilos of cocaine on August 2, off the coast of Central America. According to the US Southern Command, the destroyer conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility when the destroyer’s embarked Sikor
US Coast Guard cutter Escanaba returned to Boston on Saturday after seizing 2.7 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $75 million in wholesale value during its two-month patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. While in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the crew intercepted two separate smuggling vessels which re
An F/A-18E from the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz failed to make a timely stop during an emergency landing on Saturday, forcing the pilot to eject. The aircraft, belonging to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, took off from USS Nimitz and experienced an engine malfunction during the flight. The pil
The sail-by of a US Navy destroyer near one of China’s artificial islands built in the South China Sea “violated Chinese laws and international law and severely undermined China’s sovereignty and security”, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told media during a press conference on August 11. Sp
The Australian defense department on August 11 announced that the project to extend the service life for Navy’s Huon-class minehunter coastal vessels had been granted first pass approval by the government. The Head of Navy Capability, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, said the project forecast in the Defe
The US State Department has approved the Thailand government’s request for the acquisition of RGM-84L Harpoon Block II surface launched missiles. The requested contract for the possible foreign military sale has an estimated cost of $24.9 million and has been approved by the Defense Security Coopera
The French Navy’s La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf returned to her homeport at Toulon naval base on August 10 completing a three-month counter-piracy deployment. Surcouf spent over 120 days with the Combined Maritime Forces’ CTF 150 patrolling the Indian Ocean intercepting traffickers between the
The joint US-UK exercise Saxon Warrior, held in waters off Scotland, concluded on August 10 after ten days of drills. Surface combatants from the UK, US and Norway joined the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush as the Royal Navy is preparing to revive its carrier strike capability. At one
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John S. McCain sailed within 12 miles of a Chinese artificial reef in the South China Sea on Thursday, according to Reuters. Citing unidentified officials, Reuters wrote that the USS John S. McCain sailed close to the disputed Mischief Reef in the Spratly
US destroyer USS Fitzgerald which was heavily damaged in a June 17 collision with a merchant vessel will be sent back from Japan to the US for repairs, the US Navy has decided. A US Navy 7th Fleet spokesperson confirmed this to Naval Today adding that the contract to transport the Arleigh Burke-clas
Two Royal Navy mine countermeasure vessels arrived in Oman recently to relieve two of their counterparts who spent the last three years forward-deployed to Bahrain. Returning home to the UK are HMS Penzance (bound for Faslane) and HMS Chiddingfold (Portsmouth) after completing their three-year stint
Shipbuilder and defense contractor BAE Systems on Thursday announced it has officially submitted its bid for the construction of Australia’s nine SEA 5000 Future Frigates. The company, however, did not reveal the cost of designing and building the frigates in Australia. What is known is that the fri
French Navy Gowind-class patrol vessel FS L’Adroit has concluded a month-long deployment to the Mediterranean Sea where it helped tackle the migrant crisis off the coast of Libya under the EU-led operation Sophia. FS L’Adroit provided support to the operation, contributing to deter the illegal traff
