The US Coast Guard has accepted delivery of its 30th fast response cutter, the future USCGC Robert Ward. The FRC was accepted by the Coast Guard in Key West, Florida, on Aug. 21, and will be the second FRC stationed in San Pedro, California. The cutter’s namesake, Robert Ward, was a seaman first cla
A team of four F-35B test pilots are making final preparations for taking their aircraft aboard Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth next month. Two specially-modified F-35Bs and four pilots – Mr Wilson from BAE, the RN’s Cdr Nathan Gray, Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell and a US Marine Corps aviator
NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG1) met up with a Japan Maritime Self Defense Force training squadron in the Baltic Sea on August 21 for a passing exercise. The JMSDF task group is composed of cadet training vessel JS Kashima and the destroyer JS Makinami. Japan is one of a number of countrie
The New Zealand government has approved NZ$103 million for the purchase and refit of a second-hand multi-role offshore support vessel that will be used as a dive and hydrographic support vessel by the Royal New Zealand Navy. Following purchase, the 85-meter Norwegian-built survey vessel MV Edda Fonn
Russia’s third Project 11356 frigate, the Admiral Makarov, transited the English Channel on August 20 as she sails for her new homeport in the Black Sea. The 4,000-ton Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate was escorted through the Channel by Portsmouth-based minehunter HMS Hurworth and a Wildcat HMA2 he
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded BAE Systems a $146.3 million contract for the modernization of Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64). The cruiser modernization contract for BAE Systems is similar to the one awarded to GD NASSCO for the modernization of USS Cowpens (CG 63) on
UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird announced it has built a network of more than 2,000 suppliers that will be involved in the construction of the Royal Navy’s future Type 31 frigate should the Cammell Laird-BAE Systems duo be selected. The shipyard and engineering services company says it is registering m
The crew of Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring will be awarded a new medal clasp for bravery shown during Bab al-Mandeb strait escort missions in 2016. Announcing the recognition, the Royal Navy said HMS Daring sailors braved the threat of missile attack to protect merchant ships in the Middle
Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates are set to benefit from improved shipboard electronic countermeasures systems under a contract announced by the Canadian defense minister on August 17. According to defense minister Harjit S. Sajjan, the government of Canada has awarded Lockheed Martin Ca
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to get underway from HMNB Portsmouth on Saturday for her first-of-class F-35B flight trials. The deployment is dubbed Westlant 18 and will see the carrier spend four months off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with the aim of deve
Forward-deployed ships from the US Navy’s Ronald Reagan carrier strike group (CSG) started bilateral training with Japan Maritime Self Defense destroyer JS Kirishima on August 14. The exercise is also joined by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) personnel from the Commander, Escort Division (
US Navy and Coast Guard personnel wrapped up a trilateral exercise with the navies of Iraq and Kuwait in the Northern Persian Gulf. The exercise concluded August 15 and focused on improving collective proficiency in maritime security tactics between the three nations and ensuring the freedom of navi
The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet corvette Vyshny Volochyok transited the Bosphorus on August 16 to start her first Mediterranean Sea deployment. The Buyan-M class vessel is starting the deployment after entering service in May this year and becoming the first corvette in its class to join the Blac
The Royal Netherlands Navy offshore patrol vessel HNLMS Friesland has seized 406 kilos of cocaine from a vessel in a joint operation with the Sint Maarten coast guard. The drugs were seized on Thursday after a suspect vessel was spotted by Friesland’s NH90 helicopter. According to the Dutch Navy, th
