The crew of the US Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, the USS Charleston (LCS 18), ran aboard their ship and brought it to life in a March 2 ceremony at the Columbus Street Terminal in the ship’s namesake city. LCS-18 is the 16th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the ninth of the [&hellip
A fire broke out recently aboard the US Coast Guard’s heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star, the Coast Guard has informed. According to the service, the fire broke out in the ship’s incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, on February 10. The 150-member crew of the cutter spe
The US Navy’s carrier-based, fifth generation fighter has achieved initial operational capability, the Commander, Naval Air Forces and the US Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation jointly announced. The aircraft carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C Lightning II, met all requi
The US Navy’s future littoral combat ship USS Billings (LCS 15) will enter service in a ceremony at Key West, Florida, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer has confirmed. The event will take place in August 2019 with the specific date yet to be announced. The future USS Billings is the 17th littora
Austal USA has held a metal cutting ceremony on the US Navy’s Independence-class littoral combat ship Canberra (LCS 30). Austal LCS Program Director Dave Growden had the honor of starting the router to cut the first piece of aluminium, signaling the start of construction. The LCS is a 127m frigate-s
The wreckage of US Navy’s World War II destroyer USS Strong (DD 467) was discovered by the expedition crew of Paul G. Allen’s research vessel (R/V) Petrel resting 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) below the surface of Kula Gulf, north of the island of New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. The destroyer
US Navy’s Independence variant littoral combat ship Charleston (LCS 18) is set to enter service in a ceremony at Charleston, South Carolina’s Columbus Street Terminal, on March 2. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Charlotte Riley, wife of f
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) was delivered to the US Navy after it completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2018. The ship was delivered by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division in a document signing ceremony on February 22. The si
The US Senate has approved $655 million dedicated to the design and construction of a new heavy polar security cutter in an appropriations package last week. Also included in the funding are $20 million to acquire long lead-time materials for a second polar security cutter, and $400 million for offs
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded VT Halter Marine a $39.8 million contract for the construction of additional units of the new class of barracks ships, the Auxiliary Personnel Lighter – Small (APL(S)). VT Halter Marine received a $77.9 million contract in September 2018 to design and bui
The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) has arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) where it will spend the next 28 months, undergoing planned maintenance. The 103,000 ton, 1,092-foot aircraft carrier completed the dry docking procedure on February 21. The dry-dock
The Finnish defense ministry on February 21 announced it is buying Raytheon’s Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) systems for its Pohjanmaa-class corvettes of the Squadron 2020 project. The surface-to-air missile system (ITO20) will be installed on all four ships in the class. The exact number of miss
Ships from the US Navy’s Essex amphibious ready group (ARG) assembled around Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) paid a two-day visit to Pearl Harbor on February 18. Transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23), amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47), USS Essex and the emb
US Navy fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) and Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) met up in the South China Sea on February 18 for a series of maritime security and logistics training. The drills involved Royal Marine commandos, Royal Navy sailors and Guadalupe crew members. Dur
