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
Assets from the US Navy and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) kicked off the 8th edition of exercise Guardian Sea in the Andaman Sea on April 7. A US Navy Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine and underway replenishment oiler along with two Thai frigates, a corvette and a Sea Hawk helicopter will take part in
The Royal Australian Air Force-organized exercise Diamond Shield provided an opportunity for the Australian Navy’s second air warfare destroyer HMAS Brisbane to integrate and operate with the fifth-generation F-35A fighter jet for the first time. Brisbane embarked three Fighter Controllers from the
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 Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class frigate HMAS Melbourne got underway from her Sydney homeport to start a two-month deployment to the Pacific and South East Asia. “It’s sad to think about those at home when we sail from Sydney on deployment, but I’m excited about what the ship and crew will ach
US Navy ships from the Japan-based US 7th Fleet took part in what the navy termed the most advanced tactical training necessary for blue water combat. For the first time ever, three guided missile destroyers, a guided missile cruiser, and two amphibious ships of the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces com
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
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
The Royal Australian Navy has contracted the Australian branch of Phoenix International for the delivery of a new air transportable submarine rescue service capability. As announced by the Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne, the service will be based in Western Australia and support both t
The annual disaster response preparedness exercise Pacific Partnership began March 4 as US Military Sealift Command (MSC) expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) got underway from Naval Base Guam to start the mission in Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual, mult
US Navy submarine USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) pulled into Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Stirling on Garden Island after completing training activities with four Australian Collins-class submarines. Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine Santa Fe took part in a joint training exercise with HMAS Collins
US Navy fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) and Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) met up in the South China Sea on February 18 for a series of maritime security and logistics training. The drills involved Royal Marine commandos, Royal Navy sailors and Guadalupe crew members. Dur
A Royal Australian Navy task group composed of landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra, frigate HMAS Newcastle, and tanker HMAS Sirius, departed Sydney Harbour on February 17 to start a series of exercises and engagements with regional allies. The task group will spend the next several weeks participa
The 38th iteration of multi-lateral exercise Cobra Gold kicked off with an opening ceremony at the Akathotsarot Camp, Phitsanulok Province, on February 12. Representatives of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and US Indo-Pacific Command were joined by the ambassadors of Japan and the Republic of Korea and
