Vessels
Tri-nation exercise onboard Royal Australian Navy’s frigate
HMAS Toowoomba has strengthened the Royal Australian Navy’s ties to international navies after hosting personnel from the United Kingdom and New Zealand during Exercise Ocean Explorer 2018. A junior officer from each country worked onboard the frigate during navy’s premier fleet warfighting activity
Attack submarine USS Tucson returns to Pearl Harbor
The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Tucson (SSN 770) returned from a deployment to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on March 7. Tucson successfully completed a six-month Western Pacific deployment while conducting operations in support of national security. This deployment was the first fo
NSA Washington to conduct security assessment
Naval Support Activity Washington (NSAW) is to conduct its first final evaluation problem (FEP) from March 12 to 14, the US Navy informed. FEP is a tri-annual certification event assessing the command, control, communications and Navy Security Force on all US Navy installations. “Our primary mission
French destroyer seizes more than 4 tons of drugs
On 5 March 2018, the French Marine Nationale destroyer Jean de Vienne seized over four tons of hashish during an operation in the international waters of the Arabian Sea, Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) said. Jean de Vienne’s seizure is the third for CTF150 in recent days. Together with Her Majesty’s
‘Sudden turn’ of USS John S McCain caused fatal collision
A “sudden turn” by the US Navy destroyer USS John S McCain, which put it in the path of the merchant ship Alnic MC, caused the collision between the two vessels in the Singapore Strait on August 21, 2017. The USS John S McCain’s sudden turn was due to a series of missteps that took […]
US Navy kicks off ICEX 2018 in the Arctic Ocean
The US Navy has officially started Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018 in the Arctic Ocean. The exercise was kicked off with the construction of temporary Ice Camp Skate and the arrival of two US Navy fast-attack submarines and one UK Royal Navy submarine on March 7. ICEX 2018 is a five-week biennial exercise
Navantia picks NSAG IPMS for Future Frigates
Shipbuilding company Navantia has selected Adelaide-based Navantia SAGE Automation Group (NSAG) to supply the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) for its Future Frigates bid. The selection follows the transfer of IPMS technology to Australia in support of the Navantia Australia designed Can
NZDF vessel evacuates ill man from Antipodes Islands
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has evacuated an ill government staff member from the Antipodes Islands in its second medical evacuation in three weeks. Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington, which was on a resupply mission in the Auckland Islands, was retasked on March 3 to evacuate a Depart
Royal Navy’s HMS Cattistock clears mines around Oslo
The waters around Norway’s capital are considerably safer after a two-week hunt by the crew of Royal Navy’s HMS Cattistock. Experts from the Portsmouth-based minehunter found more than ten WW2 mines and torpedoes during a concerted search for unexploded wartime bombs with a NATO task group, the navy
USS Iwo Jima arrives in Israel for exercise Juniper Cobra 2018
US Navy’s Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) arrived off the coast of Israel on March 6 to take part in exercise Juniper Cobra 2018. Although Iwo Jima and the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will not participate directly in the ballistic missile defense portion of
Ultra Electronics, Sparton break off merger amid monopoly concerns
Ultra Electronics Holdings plc and Sparton Corporation, the two companies in charge of manufacturing sonobuoys for the US Navy, walked away from their merger after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) expressed its concern over the matter. As reasoned by the DOJ, the merger – originally valued at more
Contract for seventh Astute submarine in the works, UK MoD confirms
UK’s defense procurement minister Guto Bebb on March 6 informed MPs that the UK defense ministry received the treasury approval to award a construction contract for the Royal Navy’s seventh Astute-class submarine. Negotiations are still ongoing, it was noted, and the new contingent liabilities assoc
USS Nimitz dry docks for 15-month maintenance
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) entered a dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton on March 1, officially starting a 15-month overhaul. The carrier shifted from its homeport pier at Naval Base Kitsap to start the docking planned incre
USS Essex starts US Navy’s first ARG SWATT drill
US Navy ships from the USS Essex (LHD 2) amphibious ready group (ARG) got underway from Naval Base San Diego on March 5 to start the first Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise conducted by an ARG. The exercise is focused on advanced tactical training at sea to improve warfight