US shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the US Navy’s future Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) on May 14. Irene Hirano Inouye, the ship’s sponsor and wife of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, was in attendance to authe
The Republic of Korea Navy has launched ROKS Marado, its improved Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, at Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction shipyard in Busan. The ceremony took place Monday and was hosted by South Korean defense minister Song Young-moo. According to the Defense Acquisition Prog
The US Navy has awarded a $42.2 million dollar contract to Vigor for repairs and changes to the guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102). Work on the USS Sampson will be done in Seattle and Everett and may include blasting, painting and surface preparation. Under the deal, work on the ship’s f
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Poti, Georgia, on May 14 after concluding their participation in the Romanian-hosted Black Sea exercise Sea Shield 2018. During the four-day port call to Poti, the ships’ crews will join Georgian Border Police for drills aimed at incre
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on May 14, concluding a seven-month deployment with the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group (TRCSG). Halsey departed Pearl Harbor October 16 to deploy to the US 5th and 7th Fleet
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga and her combined engineering support team (WCEST) have recently completed a scheduled maintenance period in Bahrain. It is only the second time an engineering support team has been deployed to the Middle East region and follows the success of last year’s
The UK defense secretary is set to announce a £2.5bn investment for new Royal Navy submarines during his visit to BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on Monday. According to the UK defense ministry, the investment includes £1.5bn for the construction of the seventh Astute-class sub
As part of the mission to ensure maritime security in the Gulf of Aden, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) have conducted a large-scale Focused Operation in conjunction with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR). The operation, known as Three Arrows, started on May 1, 2018, with warships from Japan, Spain
The US Navy laid the keel for future Virginia-class submarine Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) in a ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut, on May 11. The initials of the submarine’s sponsor, Darleen Greenert, were welded onto a steel plate that will be permanently affixed to the subma
After arriving from France to US early April, French Rafale jets have now joined the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) for a combined Chesapeake 2018 exercise. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) and French Carrier Air Wing (Groupe Aerien Embarque) departed Norfolk May 7
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has seized 295 kilograms of heroin from a vessel in the Arabian Sea. Following the detection of a suspect vessel in the Arabian Sea by Warramunga’s Seahawk Romeo helicopter, a boarding party search uncovered a number of packages containing heroin. After
US Navy ships from Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3 have completed a group sail maneuver, working together for the first time in over two years. Led by aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), the CSG included Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) and ships from Destroyer
Maritime engineering consultancy BMT Australia opened a new office in Adelaide, South Australia, in a ceremony on May 14. The ceremony was attended by Australian defense industry minister Christopher Pyne who formally opened the company office. Minister Pyne welcomed the company’s expansion to Adela
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Dewey (DDG 105) and USS Sterett (DDG 104) returned to San Diego, May 11, following a three-month deployment to Indo-Pacific. The destroyers operated in the South and East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and western Pacific. During the deployment
