Vessels
Philippines Coast Guard orders fast patrol boats, offshore patrol vessel from France
The Philippines Coast Guard has contracted French shipbuilder OCEA for the delivery of four 24-meter patrol boats and one 84-meter offshore patrol vessel, the French company announced on January 8. According to the French shipbuilder, the smaller boats will be based on the company’s FPB 72 MKII desi
Norway hands over command of SNMG1 to Denmark
Norwegian Navy Commodore Petter Kammerhuber handed over command of the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) to his Royal Danish Navy counterpart, Commodore Søren Thinggaard Larsen, in a ceremony on January 15 in Bergen, Norway. SNMG1 has been under Norwegian command since January 2017, under the
Watch the Royal Navy’s fourth Astute-class submarine complete first dive
The Royal Navy’s fourth Astute-class submarine, Audacious, completed her first ever dive last week, shipbuilder BAE Systems announced. BAE Systems also shared a video of the trim and basin dive which took place over two days in Devonshire Dock, at the company’s site in Barrow-in-Furness . The operat
US Navy Admiral visits Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth
US Navy Rear Admiral Patrick Piercey, US Pacific Command operations director, recently paid a visit to the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group commander Commodore Andrew Betton onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth. The Admiral was visiting the home base of the Royal Navy’s carriers as part of a wider UK visit
US Navy tests JAGM in AH-1Z helicopter flight
The US Navy announced it has recently completed its first Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) flight test on the AH-1Z helicopter at Patuxent River. During the flight which took place in December, aircrew aboard the AH-1Z navigated the missile through various operational modes and exercised its activ
Royal Navy marks centenary of Orkney destroyer sinking
A commemorative service to mark the centenary of the sinking of Royal Navy destroyers HMS Opal and HMS Narborough. Wreaths were laid during a ceremony on January 12 in memory of the 188 men who perished when the two destroyers hit rocks off Orkney exactly 100 years ago. HMS Opal and HMS Narborough r
Japan slams China for sending new submarine near disputed islands
Japan’s defense minister Itsunori Onodera has condemned China’s deployment of a PLA Navy submarine to the disputed Senkaku Islands. Onodera’s reaction came after a submarine of the Chinese Navy was detected by Japanese warships and aircraft as it sailed near the disputed islands on January 11. Accor
Cyprus Navy commissions its first ever offshore patrol vessel
The Cyprus Naval Command commissioned its first ever offshore patrol vessel – Commodore Andreas Ioannides (P61) – in a ceremony on January 15 at the Evangelos Florakis naval base. The 62-meter OPV was built by Israel Shipyards and launched in September 2017. After further outfitting and trials, P61
USS Carney leaves Black Sea after ASW drill with Romania and Turkey
US Navy destroyer USS Carney exited the Black Sea on January 13 after making a port call in Ukraine and taking part in an anti-submarine warfare drill a Romanian frigate and a Turkish submarine. Carney spent a total of eight days in the Black Sea. “Our time in the Black Sea provided the opportunity
US destroyer USS Chafee completes independent South America deployment
US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) completed an independent deployment to the Western Pacific and South America, returning to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on January 12. While deployed, the ship conducted theater security cooperation and maritime presence operations with partne
F-35B ready USS Wasp arrives at new homeport in Sasebo, Japan
US Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) arrived in Sasebo, Japan, on January 14, to become the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship in 7th Fleet. USS Wasp, which has undergone significant upgrades to be able to land and launch the US Marine Corp’s F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, completed
Fincantieri teams with Gibbs & Cox, TMS for US Navy FFG(X) bid
Fincantieri Marine Group announced it would be teaming with design firm Gibbs & Cox and propulsion systems integrator Trident Maritime Systems to offer a modified version of its FREMM frigate for the US Navy’s new guided‐missile frigate, FFG(X) bid. “We’ve assembled a world‐class team of partners to
Royal Navy minehunter ‘Cattistock’ deploys to Baltic with NATO SNMCMG1
Royal Navy Hunt-class minehunter HMS Cattistock got underway from naval base Portsmouth on Thursday to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). Cattistock will be spending the next three months in the Baltic Sea contributing to NATO mine countermeasure operations. “The ship’s c
OCEAN2020: Leonardo chosen to lead major European autonomous systems project
Italian defense company Leonardo was selected to lead the first European Defence Fund’s initiative project which will see the integration of unmanned platforms in surveillance and interdiction missions. OCEAN2020, as the project is called, is issued by the European Union under the ‘Preparatory Actio