Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, and Minister for Defence Materiel, Jason Clare, today released the report of Phase 1 of the Review of the Sustainment of Australia’s Collins Class submarines, the Coles Review. The review is being led by Mr John Coles, an independent expert from BMT Defence Servi
The Royal Australian Navy now has enhanced amphibious warfare capability with the commissioning in Fremantle today of Australia’s newest warship, the Bay Class Landing Ship HMAS Choules. Choules, a former Royal Fleet Auxiliary which served the Royal Navy under the name Largs Bay, was renamed after C
DCNS, a French builder has initiated design work for the BPC-type force projection and command vessels ordered for the Russian Navy. Studies dedicated to modifying the vessel design to the specific requirements of the Russian Navy have been started by DCNS. The BPC contract was signed in June with R
RFA Wave Ruler arrived home on Monday, 12 December 2011, after spending nearly two years working across hurricane zones and drug-trafficking routes. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) support ship returned to Portland, Dorset, having left for operations in February 2010. The ship’s primary role has bee
A team of 24 troops from Uganda, part of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) received vessel protection training from French and Estonian troops in Mombasa onboard FS FLOREAL, which is operating as part of the EU NAVFOR. The training was planned as part of ongoing improvements in capability and
In Djibouti on 7 December, RAdm Christian Canova FRAN, Deputy Commander EU NAVFOR, transferred six powerful outboard motors which had been confiscated from Somali pirates to Colonel Abdourahman Aden Cher, Chief of the Djiboutian Navy. The engines were taken from small skiffs which had been stopped b
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) put its new damage control program to the test while underway Dec. 9. Nitze recently adjusted its damage control program in an effort to better fight the ship in a multi-mission environment. With the implementation of the Rapid Response
Lockheed Martin has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing of the U.S. Air Force’s second Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-2) satellite. The milestone represents the spacecraft’s most significant achievement to-date on the path to launch. SBIRS satellites deliver vastly
Trials of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos held in the Baltic Sea by a frigate built for Indian Navy provide strong evidence that the missile can be used by Russian-built ships, said managing co-director of BrahMos Aerospace Alexander Maksichev. “The missile’s pop-up launches were successfully held
Caspian Flotilla (CF) task units on Dec 12 left basing sites in Astrakhan and Makhachkala heading for central and southern parts of the Caspian Sea. According to plans, the CF task units will conduct anti-terror exercise in Russia’s maritime economic activity zones in the Caspian Sea. In total, up t
The commander of Naval Air Forces (CNAF) visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during the ship’s port call in San Diego, Dec. 11. CNAF Commander Vice Adm. Allen G. Myers met with Rear Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 and Capt. John D. Alex
Russian defense ministry concluded a contract with JSC Mints Radio Engineering Institute to provide Russian multirole combat helicopter Ka-52 Alligator and its variants with a new-generation data transmission equipment, reports RIA Novosti referring to the company’s director general Vladimir Savchen
Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge, commander, Submarine Group 2 and U.S.Rep. Joe Courtney joined nearly 100 Sea Cadets and their families for their annual holiday party and awards at the VFW Post 1053 in Old Saybrook, Dec. 10. Nautilus (SSN 571) Division Commanding Officer Lt. Cmdr. Robert Smith, who reti
A solemn farewell ceremony of the Pacific Fleet (PF) task unit heading for the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy took place in Vladivostok on Dec 10. The event was attended by PF officials, representatives of the city’s veteran and public organizations. The seventh PF task unit consists of large antisubm
