US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) departed Naval Station Norfolk on March 16. This is the third time the ship is getting underway in less than a year. The carrier left homeport following a three month availability period used to upgrade systems, conduct maintenance
Belgium has chosen a consortium led by France’s Naval Group for the construction of 12 new minehunters for the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium Naval & Robotics, as the consortium made up of Naval Group and ECA Robotics is named, will build the minehunters and their drone systems under
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll returned to her homeport at HMNB Devonport, completing a nine-month deployment to Asia Pacific. The service’s oldest frigate deployed to Asia on June 18, 2018, and sailed all the way to Japan for drills with Japanese and US Navy units. The warship covered the
US shipbuilder Ingalls Shipbuilding held a keel-laying ceremony for the US Navy’s third America-class amphibious warship Bougainville (LHA 8) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on March 14. Ship’s sponsor Ellyn Dunford declared the keel “truly and fairly laid” after her initials were welded onto a plate. T
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana has arrived in Canada to start her combat management system upgrades. The ship pulled into Canadian forces base Esquimalt on March 12 and will be modernized at Seaspan’s shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia. Te Mana is starting the upgrade after complet
The White Ensign was raised for the first time on the second of five Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, HMS Medway, as BAE Systems handed the ship over to the Royal Navy. Medway was handed over as the crew of lead ship HMS Forth are in the final stages to resume trials and training, [&hell
The wreck of another historic WWII aircraft carrier has been found by the expedition crew aboard research vessel (R/V) Petrel who discovered wreckage of USS Wasp (CV 7) on January 14. The ship was found in the Coral Sea, 4,200 meters (nearly 14,000 feet) below the surface. USS Hornet, another sunken
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) returned to Naval Station Rota, Spain, after completing its eighth forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) patrol of Europe and Africa. Donald Cook began its patrol Nov. 17, 2018 to conduct naval operations in the US 6th Fl
Royal Navy minehunter HMS Penzance has completed a 10-month overhaul at Babcock’s Rosyth site in Fife, the defense contractor has announced. The refit included the replacement of both main engines, multiple glass reinforced plastic (GRP) repairs and addition and alteration packages. A team of over 5
Command and control ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), the US 7th Fleet flagship, arrived in Manila, the Philippines, on March 13, for the ship’s first port visit to the Philippines in three years. The Blue Ridge and 7th Fleet team carried out a cooperative deployment with Philippine Navy (PN) frigate Da
The French Navy’s sixth FREMM frigate Normandie returned from her first sea trials in late February, achieving the milestone a year after being launched at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard. The anti-submarine warfare configured frigate tested propulsion and navigation system during the first underway
Assets from the navies of Japan, the UK and US are scheduled top take part in their second trilateral exercise later this week. The inaugural Asia Pacific exercise took place in December 2018. The drill will take place in the Western Pacific and is scheduled for kick off on March 14. Japan will be r
Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll rescued 27 sailors from the Italian Con/Ro ship Grande America which caught fire in the Bay of Biscay on March 11. The frigate was on her way home to Plymouth after nine months away in the Asia-Pacific region when she responded to a mayday during the night from the 28,0
The Philippines defense ministry has awarded French defense contractor MBDA a contract to deliver surface-to-air missiles for its two José Rizal-class frigates currently under construction in South Korea. The contract is worth EUR 10.6 million (approx. USD 12 million) and will see the French company
