Over fifty ships and submarines from 26 nations gathered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam for the start of the world’s largest naval drill – RIMPAC 2018 – which kicked off June 27. Taking place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise is s
US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) is on a visit to Manila, Philippines, together with two Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Accompanied by cruisers USS Antietam (CG 54) and USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), Reagan arrived in Manila for a scheduled port visit on June 26. “Manila is one of the favo
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) returned to operations after concluding a four-day port visit to Marseille, France, on June 25. While in Marseille, Truman sailors welcomed more than 150 French guests aboard for a reception, June 23, including US Ambassador to the French Republi
The US defense department has awarded Austal USA a $16.3 million contract modification for littoral combat ship class design services. The contract will also see the company provide integrated data and product model environment (IDPME) support. More specifically, Austal will provide class design pro
US Navy ships from the amphibious ready group assembled around USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) got underway from Morehead City, North Carolina, June 21, to start the navy’s first East Coast surface warfare advanced tactical training (SWATT) exercise. In addition to Kearsarge, ships taking part in the first Ea
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class USS Farragut (DDG 99) was underway as part of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group when a cooling fan failure forced the US Navy to carry out underway repairs on the destroyer in Norway. USS Farragut was scheduled to take part in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exer
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) wrapped up a seven-month deployment to the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operation, returning to its homeport of San Diego on June 21. While deployed, Higgins conducted security, stability, and freedom of navigation operations, observed foreign mili
US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) has arrived in Marseille, France, two months into its deployment to Europe and Africa. The aircraft carrier entered Marseille on June 21 for a regularly scheduled port visit. Truman’s France visit comes shortly after the carrier’s
US Navy littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) started the underway operational testing phase of the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. The latest set of trials began June 15, off San Diego. The operations are a continuation of MQ-8C operational testing that began in April. This next phase is
The US Navy has deployed Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) to the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) where it will support the multinational exchange Southern Seas 2018. This will be the first deployment for Gunston Hall since 2014. Southern
Personnel from the US and Royal Thai Navy completed the 24th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in Pattaya, Thailand, June 21. CARAT Thailand 2018 involved over 3,000 military personnel from the US and Royal Thai Navy conducting nearly a dozen exercises at sea, over tw
German-based defense contractor Rheinmetall Defence has been awarded a follow-on contract to upgrade the MASS countermeasure systems it previously installed on Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigates. The existing Multi Ammunition Softkill System automated decoy system will be upgraded under a contract
The recently-commissioned US Navy littoral combat ship USS Manchester (LCS 14) arrived at her San Diego homeport on June 19, completing her maiden voyage from the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The Independence variant LCS was commissioned in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, prior to her arrival
Navy ships from the US, India and Japan have concluded the trilateral maritime exercise Malabar 2018 off the coast of Guam. The exercise ran from June 7 through June 16. While ashore in Guam, training included subject matter expert and professional exchanges, maritime patrol and reconnaissance opera
