Vessels
US Navy contracts BAE Systems for modernized Mk 45 gun deliveries
The US Navy has ordered four additional Mk 45 naval guns to be delivered by BAE Systems under a $46.8 million contract option. The contract modification calls for upgrading existing guns to the Mod 4 configuration to increase the firepower and extend the range of the weapons. According to BAE System
7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge undocks
US Navy’s forward-deployed command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) completed her dry dock maintenance, undocking and mooring pierside at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on January 21. Blue Ridge is the oldest operational US Navy ship and this dry-docking period extended her life by approximately 20-plus year
Harry S. Truman CSG clears hurdles before final pre-deployment drill
The US Navy’s Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group has completed the fleet synthetic training – group commander (FST-GC) exercise on January 19, clearing another hurdle before starting the final pre-deployment exercise – Comptuex. In addition to FST-GC, Harry S. Truman sailors completed the force pr
USS Mississippi (SSN 782) on deployment’s second visit to Japan
US Navy’s Virginia-class attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN 782) pulled into Fleet Activities Yokosuka on January 22, for her second visit to the city during her deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Mississippi is visiting Yokosuka after two months at sea. “It is great to be back in Yokosu
USS Hopper sails near disputed South China Sea island claimed by China
US destroyer USS Hopper sailed within 12 miles of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea under what the US Navy refers to as a freedom of navigation operation. Hopper sailed near the China-claimed island on January 17 as part of its Western Pacific deployment. China’s foreign ministry
Damaged destroyer USS Fitzgerald arrives in Mississippi for repairs
Damaged US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) has arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where it will undergo some two years of repairs after being involved in a collision with a merchant tnaker in June 2017. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer arrived in Pascagoula on January 19 aboa
Larsen & Toubro launches second Indian Coast Guard OPV
Indian shipbuilder Larsen & Toubro launched the second offshore patrol vessel for the Indian Coast Guard at its Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai on January 20. The vessel is named CGS Vijaya and is the second in a series of seven OPVs to be built for the coast guard under a contract signed in March
Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown wraps up six months of NATO operations
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown arrived at its Halifax homeport on January 19, wrapping up a six-month deployment with NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG1). HMCS Charlottetown joined SNMG1 in August 2017, sailing in the Baltic Sea, Northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean S
Australian Navy marks loss of WWII auxiliary minesweeper
Royal Australian Navy and Northern Territorry community marked the 75th anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Patricia Cam in World War II. Nine lives were lost when, on 22 January 1943, a Japanese seaplane bombed and sank the auxiliary minesweeper as it sailed from Milingimbi to Elcho Island on a supp
Sixth Independence-variant LCS arrives in San Diego
US Navy’s sixth Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Omaha (LCS 12), completed her maiden voyage arriving in San Diego on January 19. Following construction and acceptance trials at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, the ship completed vendor training, various crew and ship cert
US 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney visits Malta
The US Navy’s forward-deployed command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) pulled into Valletta, Malta, on January 19, 2018, for a scheduled port visit. During her time in Valletta, Mount Whitney is providing ship tours and enhancing relationships between the two countries. “The sailors and civilian mar
Canada awards destroyer disposal contract
Ontario-based Marine Recycling Corporation has landed a CAD$5.7 million contract for the disposal of former Royal Canadian Navy destroyer HMCS Athabaskan. The Canadian government announced the contract on January 18, adding that it includes towing to the contractor’s facility located in Sydney, Nova
US, France, Denmark, Germany help Royal Navy train for carrier strike group operations
The Royal Navy hosted a “multi-national fleet synthetic training group command exercise” recently at HMS Collingwood with the aim of preparing to work as part of a battlegroup with the country’s new aircraft carriers. Personnel from five Royal Navy ships took part in the latest validation exercise r
US Naval Surface Forces head steps down
US Naval Surface Forces commander Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden stepped down from his position on January 18 in the aftermath of US Navy destroyer collisions in the Pacific in 2017. Rowden stepped down ahead of a recommendation for his relief as part of a series of measures taken following the loss of 17