The Canadian defense ministry has awarded Quebec-based Ocean Industries a CAD 102 million contract for the construction of four tugs for the Royal Canadian Navy. These new tugs will provide towing, firefighting and other critical support services to both the Atlantic and Pacific Maritime Forces. Two
Littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) became the first ship in its class to complete Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training in the US 3rd Fleet area of operation (AOR). The training, which concluded April 22, provided the crew of the Independence-class USS Montgomery (LCS 8) advanced level
US destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) tested the new AEGIS Virtual Twin system, a prototype of the AEGIS virtual combat management system, in a March live-fire missile launch. Thomas Hudner’s crew operated the Virtual Twin to fire a missile against an incoming target, proving the Virtual Twin can
Ships from the Royal Canadian navy made their Phoenix Express debut as they joined the exercise on March 29. The 15th edition of the training event kicked off in the western Mediterranean Sea, in and around the territorial waters of various North African countries. For the next week, they worked coo
Two groups of ships assembled around aircraft carriers from the navies of the US and France gathered in the Red Sea for a three-nation passing exercise (PASSEX) on April 15. France’s Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group, composed of Marine Nationale’s FS Charles De Gaulle (R 91), F70AA-class air d
Ships from the navies of the US, the UK and France have kicked off the mine countermeasures exercise Artemis Trident in the Persian Gulf. “Mine laying poses a risk to naval ships as well as merchant shipping vessels,” the US 5th Fleet said in an announcement. “As mines threaten maritime traffic indi
Philippine and US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force service members on April 11 carried out an amphibious drill as part of the bilateral annual exercise Balikatan 2019. The amphibious assault took place at Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), Zambales, and involved the movement of assault amp
NATO’s Allied Maritime Command hosted a ceremony on the 70th anniversary of the alliance to ceremonially activate a new command called Commander Surface Forces NATO (COMSURFNATO). This April 4 activation is part of NATO’s Command Structure Adaptation (NCS-A) remarking new NATO at its birthday. One o
The US Naval Sea Systems Command is kick-starting the $21 billion plan to upgrade the four public shipyards to improve their productivity and increase their maintenance throughput in order to support the combat readiness of the navy the nation needs. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Shipyard I
The US 2nd Fleet (C2F) is scheduled to lead the major Baltic Sea exercise BALTOPS 2019, seven months after the command was re-established at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. The US 2nd Fleet, which falls under operational control of the US Fleet Forces Command, was set up again after previously bein
The US Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) arrived in Subic Bay, on March 30, ahead of exercise Balikatan. Wasp arrived in the Philippines with embarked Marines from Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) 4, which are led by 4th Marine Regiment. This will
Royal Navy auxiliary landing ship dock RFA Mounts Bay served as the test bed for a mobile US Navy minehunting force during a recent test off the coast of Virginia. The test included helicopters, divers, remote-controlled boats and automated surveying machines and was intended to see whether a task f
US Navy’s sixth Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will be named in honor of Korean War veteran, and Navy Cross Recipient, Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class George M. Neal, the US Navy secretary has announced. Neal, a native of Springfield, Ohio, served with Helicopter Utility Squadron ONE (
US Navy and Marine Corps units are wrapping up two weeks of joint drills as part of exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 in and off the coast of Southern California. The scenario-driven field-training exercise kicked off March 12 and is set to conclude on Tuesday, March 26. The exercise involved command and
