US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) wrapped up its sixth forward-deployed naval forces patrol, returning to Naval Station Rota on November 17. While on patrol, Donald Cook participated in exercises Saxon Warrior 2017, Joint Warrior 2017, Formidable Shield
Ships form NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 have concluded their Mediterranean Sea stint taking part in exercises with regional navies and supporting operation Sea Guardian. The group is now heading for the English Channel where they will attend Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) drills before resumin
A team of Royal Navy divers was called upon to destroy a 500lb wartime bomb which was first dredged up and then dropped dangerously close to a major North Sea gas pipeline. The divers embarked aboard minehunter HMS Cattistock racing to the location 50 miles off the coast of Norfolk after a Dutch tra
US Navy destroyer USS Benfold collided with a tug on November 18, becoming the fifth US Navy ship to get involved in a collision in the Pacific this year. The forward-deployed destroyer was participating in a scheduled towing exercise in Sagami Wan, south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, when the t
Russian shipbuilder Sevmash launched the Russian Navy’s first modernized, Borei-A (Project 955-A) submarine Knyaz Vladimir at its shipyard in Severodivnsk on November 17. The nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is now set to undergo factory and state tests before entering service. Acc
The Indian Navy’s 3rd generation submarine rescue systems (SRS) will be ready for delivery in 2018, JFD – the systems manufacturer – has announced. According to the company, Deep Submergence and Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs) will be undergoing factory acceptance tests at the end of November 2017, ready fo
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command has awarded Vigor Marine an $8.5 million contract for the mid-term availability of USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187). The 42-calendar day shipyard availability of the fleet replenishment oiler will see Vigor Marine carry out general services, clean and gas free t
Royal Australian Navy’s future replenishment ships will be named ‘Supply’ and ‘Stalwart’, Australian defense minister Marise Payne announced on Friday. The ships will be known as Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessels and will replace the current HMA Ships Success and Sirius. Supply will be the secon
The US Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite is now being operated by the Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) after completing all on-orbit testing. The satellite was handed over to NAVSOC by the US Navy’s Communications Satellite Program Office, PMW 146, and Lockheed Mar
The US Navy carrier strike group centered around the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson completed a three-week sustainment training exercise off the coast of Southern California, November 16. Completing the exercise indicates the strike group’s readiness for executing missions across all warfare areas
Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is to be commissioned by the Queen in a ceremony on December 7, the UK defense ministry announced. UK’s new defense secretary Gavin Williams made the announcement as he visited the carrier on Thursday, while at sea, sailing on trials around the s
The lead ship in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s new tanker fleet, the RFA Tidespring, has arrived in Portsmouth to prepare for her November 27 dedication ceremony, the Royal Navy announced. The 39,000 tonne tanker will be brought into service with the RFA – the civilian-manned fleet of support vessels
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Newcastle wrapped up a six-month deployment to the Middle East achieving some firsts and marking some lasts along the way. She conducted a range of Combined Maritime Forces operations, including an attachment in support of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, and t
Ships from the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on November 16 started the 2017 edition of their bilateral maritime field training exercise simply dubbed ‘Annual Exercise’. During the ten days of evolutions, Japanese and American forces will increase the defensive readiness and
