Vessels
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailors prepare for new workboats
Sailors assigned to the recently commissioned Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be using a new type of personnel transfer boats with improved maneuvering characteristics. As the new workboats are powered by two water-jets, unlike the current fleet of small boats operated by the Ro
USS Anchorage completes NASA’s Orion capsule recovery test
US Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) successfully recovered NASA’s Orion capsule in the fourth test conducted ahead of the actual recovery mission in 2020. The latest test was completed on January 23. The underway recovery test-6 (URT-6) is part of a US govern
US Coast Guard offloading $721m worth of cocaine in San Diego
The US Coast Guard is set to offload over 21 tons of cocaine worth more than $721 million in San Diego on January 25. The narcotics were seized in 23 separate interdictions in the eastern Pacific Ocean by US and Canadian forces operating in international waters off the coast of Central and South Ame
France, Italy, UK renew Eurosam missile support contract
France, Italy and the United Kingdom have renewed an in-service support contract with Eurosam related to the upkeep of the land and naval systems in service with the three countries. The contract extension was awarded to Eurosam, a consortium between MBDA and Thales, by the European Organisation for
UK’s fourth Tide-class tanker RFA Tideforce named in South Korea
RFA Tideforce, the final of four Tide-class tankers being built for the UK in South Korea, was named on January 24 in a ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea. The ceremony was attended by Royal Marine General Gordon Messenger, British ambassador to Republic
America ARG ships pull into Pearl Harbor on deployment’s final stop
Ships from the US Navy’s America Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on January 22 and 23. This will be the group’s final port call as they complete their maiden seven-month deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Horn of Africa, Mediterranean, and Middle Eas
US Coast Guard cutter Sherman returns from final deployment
US Coast Guard’s high endurance cutter Sherman (WHEC 720) returned from its final deployment on January 23, completing a 76-day patrol in the Bering Sea. The deployment was Sherman’s last one before it decommissions in March this year after nearly 50 years of service. The cutter is scheduled to be d
UMS SKELDAR joins OCEAN2020 project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer UMS SKELDAR has joined the European Defence Fund’s OCEAN2020 autonomous systems project with its Skeldar V-200 UAV, the company announced on January 22. UMS SKELDAR is joining the naval surveillance technology project alongside its partner Saab. OCEAN2020 is t
Keel laid for first of six Polish Navy tugs
Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding SA has laid the keel for the first of six tugs to be built for the Polish Navy under a contract signed in June 2017. The first tug, bearing pennant number 860/1, started construction in November 2017 when the first steel was cut. The tugs will be used for po
USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams completes builder’s and acceptance trials
Expeditionary Sea Base ship USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams (T-ESB 4) has completed its first integrated trials, the US Naval Sea Systems Command announced. T-ESB 4 got underway Jan. 19, sailing from and returning to General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego.
Royal Bahrain Naval Force receives first upgraded Al-Manama FPB 62 patrol combatant
The Royal Bahrain Naval Force received its first upgraded Al-Manama class guided-missile patrol combatant in a ceremony on January 22 at the main navy base in Mina Salman. The FPB 62 patrol combatant was delivered by Italian defense company Leonardo after the company was awarded a modernization cont
German frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern wraps up operation Sophia deployment
German Navy frigate FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has completed a six-month deployment to the EU-led migrant-rescue operation Sophia and is currently on her way home. The F123 frigate has departed the Mediterranean Sea and is scheduled to enter her homeport in Wilhelmshaven on January 26. During her ti
Future USS Portland arrives in San Diego
Three days after the arrival of future littoral combat ship USS Omaha, naval base San Diego welcomed the future amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) to its new homeport on January 22. Portland’s arrival to her Southern California homeport concluded a six-week transit from her buildin
Spanish research ship ‘Hespérides’ starts second phase of Antarctic campaign
The Spanish Navy-operated polar research ship B.I.O. Hespérides has started the second phase of the 31st Spanish Antarctic Campaign after a three and a half-month voyage from her homeport in Cartagena. After making port calls in Mar de Plata and Ushuaia, the ship proceeded towards the Antarctic cont