U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the names for two new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in a ceremony at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 17. DDG 125, will be named Jack H. Lucas in honor of the Marine Corps hero and Medal of Honor recipient while DDG 126 would be named Louis H. Wil
The U.S. Navy is set to christen its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, USS Wichita (LCS 13), during a ceremony on Saturday, September 17 in Marinette, Wisconsin. “The christening of the future USS Wichita brings this warship one step closer to joining our nation’s growing fleet,” said Ray
The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group a $110.29 million contract for the production of the lead Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and up to eight follow-on cutters. If the Coast Guard opts to build all nine cutters the contract will be worth $2.38 billion. The OPC acquisition will r
Naval units taking part in the Australian-hosted multinational maritime exercise have sailed out of Darwin to begin the sea phase of Exercise Kakadu. The ships separated into three multi-national task groups once outside the harbor and will spend the next eight days undertaking a graduated program o
U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) reached the halfway point of its Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) September 13, pierside at Naval Air Station North Island. PIA is a reoccurring part of a ship’s life cycle, scheduled approximately every 36 months. It’s
Ships assigned to the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHR ESG), with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, joined the U.S. military exercise Valiant Shield 2016, on September 15. Valiant Shield is a biennial exercise held between the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force in an effor
German Navy’s F123 frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern joined the European-led operation Sophia by taking over command of deployed German units from the German tender Werra in the Italian port of Augusta, Sicily, September 14. German soldiers and sailors participating in the Mediterranean Sea mission wil
The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $19.1 million contract modification to accelerate design work on the U.S. Navy’s amphibious warfare ship replacement, known as LX(R). In the original announcement on June 30, Ingalls was selected to perform the majority of the contract design
The U.S. Navy’s newest destroyer, future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) pulled into Naval Station Norfolk September 14 for another port visit on the 3-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego. Crewed by 147 sailors, Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers design
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics’ division NASSCO-Norfolk a $21 million contract to carry out extended dry-docking selected restricted availability on USS Gonzalez (DDG 66). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization, and repair of the A
Pakistan’s Karachi Shipyard announced it would launch the nation’s third Azmat-class (FAC) corvette on September 17. Construction of the 63 meter multi-mission, fast attack craft started in April 2015 while keel laying took place five months later on August 11. The ship displaces 560 tons and, accor
HMAS Hobart, the first of three Royal Australian Navy Aegis-equipped air warfare destroyers, has started builder’s sea trials leaving ASC’s Osborne, South Australia shipyard for the first time. A number of alongside dock trials in preparation for Hobart’s first departure to sea were carried out, inc
The first of two SIGMA 10514 PKR naval frigates for the Indonesian Navy has completed its sea trials, Dutch shipbuilder Damen has informed. The assessment phase began with seven days of basin trials to ensure that the propulsion and safety systems were fully operational before the vessel made the pa
German Navy frigate FGS Karlsruhe is scheduled to return from the Mediterranean Sea and her last operational deployment on September 16. The ship was first part of operation Sophia and later joined the NATO-led Again Sea patrol mission aimed at curbing people smuggling. Karlsruhe deployed half a yea
