The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center has awarded Lockheed Martin a $150.9 million contract for the Target Sight System (TSS) on the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter. The TSS is a large-aperture midwave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret. The system provides the
Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarine HMAS Dechaineux returned to Fleet Base West after a two-month deployment to Tasmania and New Zealand. One of the highlights of Dechaineux’s deployment was being the Royal Australian Navy representative unit at the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 75th annivers
Royal Navy’s Sandown-class minehunter HMS Shoreham has undergone an extensive refurbishment and maintenance programme carried out by Babcock in Rosyth. The shipbuilder improved the vessel’s operational capability and carried out restoration work on the glass reinforced plastic (GRP) hull. This work
Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush came one step closer to deployment by completing their composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) on December 21. The 3-week-long assessment tested the ship’s ability to collaborate with other ships in the strike grou
Scientists and engineers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division have developed a way to change unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) mission information easier and faster. Autonomous systems engineers, Drs. Matthew Bays and Drew Lucas, refer to the system as “Autonomy in a Box.” Autono
Germany has decided to upgrade its Sachsen-class air defense frigates with the aim of improving their contribution to NATO’s missile defense system. The ships’ long range radars are being replaced with new ones that will have a significantly broadened scope of engagement. Apart from defending agains
U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) is preparing to take an extended 40-plus-month break for its Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) maintenance period after nearly 25 years of service. Throughout the first 25 years of an aircraft carrier’s life, it goes through
The Royal Canadian Navy has selected Halifax-class frigate HMCS St. John’s as the next RCN ship to deploy on NATO’s operation Reassurance in early 2017. The frigate will support the standing NATO maritime group 2 (SNMG 2) in the Mediterranean Sea contributing to regional security and stability. HMCS
U.S. Navy’s Bataan amphibious readiness group (ARG) completed its ARG/marine expeditionary unit exercise (ARG/MEUEX) on December 19. During exercises like these, ship crews and defense forces personnel get the opportunity to improve cohesiveness and strategies developed during previous underway peri
Home with just seven days to spare before Christmas Day are the sailors and Royal Marines on RFA Mounts Bay which has completed a marathon deployment in the Mediterranean. The amphibious support ship has been away from home for 349 days as one of the first vessels to deploy in 2016… and last to retu
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87), part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (Ike CSG), and the embarked detachment from the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74 concluded a multi-day port visit to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, Dec. 11. The port visit com
Landing ship, HMAS Choules is under new management with Commander Chris Aulmann handing over the weight to Commander Dave Graham, while in the vicinity of Cairns, Queensland recently. During his time at the helm, between November 2014 and December 2016, Commander Aulmann and the crew spent 318 days
This week the European Union is marking eight years since it launched its first ever maritime military operation, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, in response to a surge in armed pirate attacks on merchant ships and other vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Back in 2008, increasingl
German Navy minesweeper FGS Fulda has concluded her deployment to NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group two and is currently on the way back home. Fulda and her crew are set to enter the Kiel navy base on December 16 after four months at sea. Commanded by Captain lieutenant Michael Montag, the
