U.S. mine countermeasures, surface and expeditionary assets and counterparts from the Republic of Korea navy wrapped up the mine countermeasures portion of the bilateral exercise Foal Eagle March 29. Foal Eagle is a series of joint and combined field training exercises conducted by Combined Forces C
Two of four forward deployed U.S. Navy destroyers used live missiles from their new SeaRAM close-in weapons systems to intercept drones that mimicked anti-ship cruise missiles. On March 30, USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and USS Ross (DDG 71) took turns intercepting missiles in the Gulf of Cadiz on Spain’
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter James seized five tons of cocaine on its maiden voyage and patrol as a coast guard ship. The crew of the CGC James returned home to Charleston, South Carolina, on March 31 following a 60-day, multi-mission patrol. During its maiden voyage, James’ crew contributed to the i
The U.S. Department of Defense last week awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than £80m (US$102.2m) to deliver the initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II fleet over a three year period. Lockheed Martin has sub-contracted work worth £4
The crew of the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) hosted midshipmen from the Naval Academy during their recent underway for a sustainment exercise. The midshipmen were brought aboard Ike for an extensive tour of the aircraft carrier conducting flight o
U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-Class fast attack submarine USS Pasadena (SSN 752) completed a six-month deployment and returned to her homeport in San Diego, March 30. According to Cmdr. Ken Douglas, Pasadena’s commanding officer, the submarine steamed more than 40,000 miles, completed two major missions v
The U.S. Navy announced it completed a successful flight test of the AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) off the west coast of Hawaii. During the March 15 flight test, designated Vigilant Hunter, the AN/SPY-6(V) AMDR searched for, detected and maintained track on a short-range ballistic
The U.S. Coast Guard will hold a commissioning ceremony for the National Security Cutter (NSC) Munro on Saturday in Seattle.. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft will preside over the ceremony, accepting the sixth NSC into the military se
The U.S. Coast Guard hosted naval forces from the Arab Republic of Egypt and Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercise onboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, March 12-23. Per the USCG Maritime Engagement Team (MET) syllabus, the engagement “is designed to sh
Norway’s plans to replace its ageing fleet of P-3 Orion and DA-20 Jet Falcon maritime patrol aircraft became official on Wednesday with the signing of a contract for the acquisition of the Boeing built P-8A. The contract for five aircraft was signed by the Norwegian defense equipment agency, on beha
The U.S. Coast Guard released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for procurement of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for the national security cutters (NSCs). Issued on March 28, the draft invites industry sources to comment, ask questions and provide feedback by May 15, 2017. The Coast Guard
The U.S. Navy’s Sterett-Dewey surface action group, composed of destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Dewey (DDG 105), is set to depart San Diego on March 31 to start their Western Pacific deployment. The destroyers are accompanied by command staff of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 31 and the embark
The U.S. Navy announced it would christen its newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), on Saturday, April 1, at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The future Thomas Hudner is named in honor of naval aviator and Medal of Honor recipient Thomas J. Hudner J
Ships from the U.S. Navy’s Carl Vinson carrier strike group joined Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships for an at-sea bilateral exercise in the East China Sea. The U.S. Navy and JMSDF operated together March 26-29 to increase proficiency in basic maritime skills and improve response capab
