The US and Philippine navies concluded maritime training activity (MTA) Sama Sama 2018 at the Philippine Navy base Ernesto Ogbinar on July 17. The week-long engagement involved sailors and marines from the US and Philippine navies operating jointly in the air, on the ground, and on and under the sea
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) on July 13. “We are proud to have DDG 121 one step closer to completion and look forward to presenting this invaluable asset
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and ships from its carrier strike group are returning home just three months after starting a deployment to the US 6th Fleet. US Navy aircraft carriers usually deploy for a period of seven months. However, Truman’s deployment was not cut short by a techni
US Navy’s Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) has completed combat system ship qualification trials (CSSQT), the US Navy announced. During the qualification, which concluded July 1, several trials validated the performance of the combat systems suite. The tests involved
The US Navy’s most expensive ship ever, aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), arrived at Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, July 14 to begin its post-shakedown availability (PSA) period. The PSA will be a yearlong maintenance and upgrade peri
Australian, Japanese and US units joined forces on July 12 to sink the decommissioned ex-USS Racine (LST-1191) during a sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of RIMPAC 2018. Live fire from aircraft, a submarine, and land assets sank the former landing ship in waters 15,000 feet deep 55 nautical miles no
The US Navy’s seventh Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Wichita (LCS 13), has completed acceptance trials in the waters of Lake Michigan. The next step for the vessel will be the delivery to the US Navy which is scheduled to take place later this summer. During her trials, which t
The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 aboard the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) carried out an air defense exercise (ADEX) in the Philippine Sea July 6-7. Milius is the most recent forward-deployed Navy vessel, havi
The US Navy’s second Zumwalt-class destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) will need a new main turbine engine after turbine blades were damaged during the ship’s acceptance trials. According to a USNI News report: Michael Monsoor will have to receive the new MT30 engine at the Bath Iron Works shipyard
The US Navy included senator John McCain (R-AZ) as the namesake of Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain in a ceremony in Yokosuka, Japan, on July 11. The destroyer was originally named after senator McCain’s father and grandfather and now honors three generations of McCain
US Navy’s Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) departed Virginia in late June to start the Southern Seas 2018 deployment which will see the ship and its crew operate in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ship got underway from Joint Expeditionary Base Little
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) completed a weeklong joint exercise known as French Air Defense week on July 6 and is continuing its deployment in the Atlantic. The exercise saw aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) conducting integrated flight operations with French Naval
The US and Philippines navies started seven days of interactions as part of maritime training activity (MTA) Sama Sama at Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar in San Fernando City, Philippines. The week-long engagement kicked off July 9 and will focus on the full spectrum of naval capabilities. Expeditiona
Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) announced it has completed its final critical design review (FCDR) for the US Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutter (OPC) program. The FCDR was accomplished on June 29, 2018, after a week of discussions, demonstrations, and design presentations by ESG’s design team to
