Royal Navy Type 23 frigate and Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender got underway from Portsmouth on Sunday to deploy for operations in the Persian Gulf and Asia Pacific. HMS Kent will relieve destroyer HMS Duncan of her duties in the Gulf and is scheduled to work alongside US partners as part of the newly
US Navy mine warfare specialists from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 and their Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) EOD counterparts recently completed mine warfare exercise (MIWEX) 2JA 2019. MIWEX 2JA is an annual bilateral exercise held between the US and Japan to incre
The Royal Navy Trafalgar-class attack submarine HMS Talent has arrived at HM Naval Base Clyde as part of the navy’s plan to base all of its submarines in Faslane by 2020. HMS Talent shifted from her former home at HM Naval Base Devonport. The nuclear-powered submarine has operated from the Plymouth
F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp used the GAU-22 cannon against a simulated target and executed the first shipboard hot reload of ordnance in the Indo-Pacific region while underway in the Solomon Sea. The aircraft from Marine Medium Tiltrotor S
German defense contractor Rheinmetall has joined forces with missile maker MBDA to develop, integrate and test a laser demonstrator for the German Navy’s K130 corvette. Laser effector systems are currently being developed for shipboard and naval use by the navies of the US and the UK, for example, a
US Navy’s Spain-based Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) is entering the Black Sea for exercises and engagements with regional allies. The US Navy said the Aegis destroyer started its north-bound transit to the Black Sea on August 8. Porter’s arrival in the Black Sea wi
The lead ship of a new class of Royal Navy patrol ships is escorting one of the Russian Navy’s recently-commissioned Project 22160 patrol ships as it transits the English Channel. The second-batch River-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) HMS Forth had just returned to UK waters from her first foreig
French and Egyptian Navy ships rendezvoused in the Mediterranean Sea for a series of exercises aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two sides. French Cassard-class anti-air frigate Jean Bart and Egyptian frigate Damietta conducted drills in Egyptian Navy’s Northern Mediterranean Fleet area
The Mexican Navy Yard ASTIMAR 1 in Tampico has launched the final of eight Oaxaca-class patrol ships to be built for the Armada de México. Launched on July 20, the vessel was named Tabasco, with hull number P-168. The Mexican Navy noted that in comparison with its predecessors, Tabasco features impr
US Navy’s Japan-based amphibious ships met up with their Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) counterparts for training off Australia. US Navy transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) trained with Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH 18
The US Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in Manila, the Philippines, for a port call on August 7. The carrier arrived together with ships from its carrier strike group, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Antietam (CG 54). T
Thailand’s Bangkok Dock has launched the Royal Thai Navy’s second Krabi-class offshore patrol vessel, the future HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan (552). The ship, which was built under a licensing agreement with UK’s BAE Systems, was launched on August 2. It is based on the River-class OPVs currently being
The ship was commissioned into Philippine Navy service on August 5.
Bollinger Shipyards delivered the 35th fast response cutter (FRC), Angela McShan, to the US Coast Guard in Key West, Florida, on August 1. The cutter will be the third of three FRCs stationed in Cape May, New Jersey. Angela McShan, the cutter’s namesake, was the first African-American woman to be pr
