An al Qaeda operative held responsible for the plotting of the deadly bombing of destroyer USS Cole in 2000 was killed in a precision airstrike, the US Central Command has confirmed. “Jamal al-Badawi was killed in a precision strike in Marib governate [Yemen] on January 1,” spokesman Capt. Bill Urba
US Navy destroyer USS McCampbell carried out a South China Sea freedom of navigation operation on Monday, sailing within 12 miles of the Paracel Island chain. According to media reports, the Yokosuka-homeported destroyer sailed near three islands in the chain which is claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan b
Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) entered the Black Sea on Sunday, becoming the first US Navy ship to do so since the Kerch Strait incident from November 2018 when Russia fired on, and seized, three Ukrainian Navy ships near the the Kerch Strait. USS Fort McHenry, with
The US Navy’s third Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer will be named in honor of US senator Ted Stevens, who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009, US Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer has announced. “Senator Stevens was a staunch supporter of a strong Navy and Marine Corps team who served our
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Méndez Núñez got underway from her Ferrol homeport on Thursday to start what will eventually be a year-long deployment with the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The Aegis-equipped Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate (also referred to as F100) will spend the next two
The US Department of Defense has officially notified the Congress of its intention to buy two aircraft carriers at once in a move that is expected to bring some $4 billion in savings. In a letter on December 31, the Pentagon formally informed the Congress about the block buy of two Ford-class aircra
The newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, USS South Dakota (SSN 790), will be commissioned at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, Feb. 2, 2019, the US Navy has announced. South Dakota is the seventeenth Virginia-class submarine to join the fleet. SSN 790 is entering servic
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded BAE Systems a $78.8 million contract for the maintenance and modernization of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86). The value of the competitively awarded contract could reach $87.6 million if all options are exercised. “The Sho
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrived in Aksaz, Turkey for a port visit on January 1. Following the port visit, the Arleigh Burke-class ship is scheduled to take part in a joint exercise with the Turkish Navy and Air Force in the Mediterranean Sea. Porter got underway from Spa
US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) seized almost five tons of hashish from a dhow in the Gulf of Aden on December 27. According to the US Navy, the destroyer made the interception during a flag verification boarding as part of maritime security operations in the region. “We h
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’s Newport News Shipbuilding a $228.m million contract modification to purchase additional long lead time material to be used for the construction of Enterprise (CVN 80). Long lead time materials contracts allow the shipbuilde
The US Navy’s Littoral Combat Group One (LCG-1) returned home to Naval Base San Diego and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after participating in the International Maritime and Naval Exhibition for South America, known as EXPONAVAL. Both USS Somerset (LPD 25) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) visited V
Ships from the US Navy’s Kearsarge amphibious ready group (ARG) and embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) entered the US 6th Fleet area of operations on December 25 for a regularly-scheduled deployment. During its time in theater, the ARG/MEU team and its more than 4,500 sailors and marines
The US Navy Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works a $910,723,811 contract modification for the construction of the yet unnamed Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer DDG 132. DDG 132 is the fifth DDG 51 awarded to GDBIW as part of a multi-year contract which was announc
