Sailors from Japanese destroyer JS Yuugiri (DD 153) and U.S. Navy’s USS Shiloh (CG 67) met at sea to exchange holiday gifts on December 28. A week before, sailors from Japanese helicopter carrier JS Izumo visited U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan for a gift exchange and ship tour. During the m
The U.S. Navy’s 3rd Fleet announced that ships and units from the Carl Vinson strike group (CVNSG) will depart San Diego for a regularly-scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific on January 5 and 6. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Carrier Air Wing 2, and embarked Destro
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) welcomed a new commanding officer during a ceremony held at Naval Base San Diego. Commander Manuel Hernandez turned over the role of commanding officer to Commander Joshua M. Menzel. The ship’s 325 member crew, family an
The U.S. Navy’s future Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) completed acceptance trials December 16 after spending two days underway off the coast of Maine. USS Rafael Peralta is the third Flight IIA Restart destroyer laid down in October 2014 and christened a year later by the
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
The U.S. Navy’s unmanned helicopter, MQ-8B Fire Scout, celebrated 10 years of flight on December 18, during a ceremony at Webster Field Annex, Maryland. The helicopter flew 15,000 hours during test and real-world operations since its first flight ten years ago. Fire Scout’s next variant, the MQ-8C w
U.S. Navy’s Eisenhower carrier strike group (Ike CSG) departed the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on December 26, six days after it set sail from the French city of Marseille. The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56), and guided-missil
Initiating the first step in a process to construct six new Batch III frigates South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed an initial 16.6 billion KRW ($13.7M) with Hyundai Heavy Industries on December 27. The contract will see the shipbuilder start planing and design work
The Italian Navy’s Bergamini-class frigate ITS Carabiniere left the Italian port of La Spezia for an ‘Italian industry showcase’ deployment to Australia and Southeast Asia. ITS Carabiniere is a FREMM frigate built for the Italian Navy by Fincantieri within the framework of an Italo-French cooperatio
U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain arrived in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines for a brief port call on December 24. During the visit, the McCain crew will participate in a series of community service projects and sporting events. The visit comes months after
Several days after the Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a document approving the expansion of the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria, Russian commercial ships have been observed sailing to and from Syria over the weekend and on Monday. To remind, a Russian Ministry of Defense document publis
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, started blue water drills on Saturday, heading towards the West Pacific with a carrier task group. Chinese state media reported that this was the carrier’s first “distant seas” deployment. According to China’s Xinhua news agency, the Liaoning and other s
The U.S. Navy received USS Gabrielle Giffords, littoral combat ship number ten, during a ceremony held at Austal’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard. The future USS Gabrielle Giffords is the fifth Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) delivered to the USN since 2009 and the fourth naval vessel deli
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) concluded its participation in the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) and returned to its homeport of Everett, Washington, on December 23. During the two-month underway, Sampson became the first U.S. warship to visit New Zealand in
