BAE Systems has beaten its Spanish and Italian competitors in a bid to build a fleet of nine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the decision on Friday. Once in Royal Australian Navy service, the frigates will be referred to as the Hunter-
After concluding international exercise Tradewinds 2018, Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay is touring British territories in the Caribbean region to help them prepare for this year’s storm season. The 2017 storm season was among the worst in recent memory with a succession of hurricanes batterin
Mine countermeasure assets from the US and Royal Navy teamed up recently to test their skills during a major exercise in the Persian Gulf. The Royal Navy’s entire presence in the Middle East was engaged in Mine Countermeasures Exercise 18-2, designed to see how the navies of Britain and the USA can
The US Naval Oceanography’s Fleet Survey Team (FST) and Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC) recently joined the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise for an opportunity to develop interoperability with European allies in mine countermeasure operations. FST and the Hydrographic Support Squa
The French Navy has officially commissioned its newest ice-breaking and polar patrol vessel L’Astrolabe, nine months after receiving it and eight months after sending it on an astral summer mission to Antarctica. As explained, the French Navy puts it newbuilds through two phases of testing. The firs
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of Aegis combat system equipment for the Royal Australian Navy’s new SEA5000 frigates. The approved $185 million sale would include equipment associated with the integration of the Australian CEAFAR 2 phased array radar system with the Lockheed M
The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded Raytheon a $29.7 million contract for work on the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) innovative naval prototype (INP). As its name indicates, the LOCUST project is aimed at developing a system for the deployment of small, low-cost swarming UAV
The navies of India and Bangladesh kicked off their first ever coordinated patrol (IN-BN CORPAT) from the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong on June 25. The Indian Navy sent frigate INS Satpura and corvette INS Kadmatt to take part in the patrol. Bangladesh contributed frigate Abu Bakr and corvette
The US Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson has visited Norway and the UK to strengthen maritime partnerships and international relationships. While in Norway from June. 24 to 26, Richardson was hosted by his counterpart, Chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy Rear Adm. Nils Andreas Stens
The Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system has successfully passed its Defense Acquisition Board review and achieved milestone C, missile developer Lockheed Martin has announced. The signed acquisition decision memorandum approves the JAGM system to enter into low-rate initial production (LRIP).
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has entered into an agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia to support its major hiring initiative. Gov. Ralph Northam announced June 26 that various state agencies and regional community colleges would work with Newport News to a
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate Antonio Marceglia has been taken to sea in the Gulf of La Spezia for the first time, Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) said. During its first time at sea on June 19, 2018, several platform and combat system elements installed onboard were set up, t
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of five Aegis shipsets for the Spanish Navy’s new F-110 frigates. A contract for the construction of five frigates is expected to be awarded this year and Navantia is already working on some elements of the ships’ systems and design. The potentia
Over fifty ships and submarines from 26 nations gathered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam for the start of the world’s largest naval drill – RIMPAC 2018 – which kicked off June 27. Taking place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise is s
