Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat got underway from her homeport Fleet Base West at Garden Island on October 28 to start her Middle East deployment. The 190 sailors and officer on board will spend the next nine months conducting maritime security operations as part of the Australian defens
The Royal Australian Navy hosted a commissioning ceremony at HMAS Albatross on Wednesday to mark the formal transition of the Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit (NUASU) to 822X Squadron. This is a major milestone in the Royal Australian Navy’s capability to operate unmanned aerial systems in the m
The navies of Australia and Brunei have completed the 18th series of bilateral exercise Penguin which took place off Brunei. The four-day exercise concluded October 22. Exercise Penguin was joined by Royal Brunei Navy’s Darussalam-class OPV KD Darulaman and Itjihad-class inshore patrol vessel KD Ber
HMPNGS Rabaul, a Papua New Guinea Defence Force patrol boat which was gifted to the island country by Australia, has completed its final voyage to Port Macquarie from Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island after 31 years of service. The patrol boat was gifted to Papua New Guinea in May 1987 under the Pa
The first joint exercise between China and ASEAN member countries kicked off in Zhanjiang, in China’s Guandong province, on Monday, October 22. The five-day exercise is co-organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and will be joined by participants from all n
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra has hosted first of class trials (FOCT) for the army’s ARH Tiger helicopter. A team from the Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU) spent the last seven weeks embarked in HMAS Canberra evaluating the helicopters operational li
French shipbuilder Ocea has completed construction works on the final two Boracay-class FPB 72 MKII fast patrol boats for the Philippine Coast Guard. The company informed that the final two of four boats – Malamawi and Kalanggaman – were loaded onto a cargo vessel going to Subic on October 16, 2018.
An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter crashed aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during flight operations on Friday, the US Navy informed. The helicopter, assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, crashed on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier shortly after takeoff at approximately 9 a.m., Oct. 19. The na
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of two frigates built for the Philippine Navy under the Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP). The ceremony took place in Ulsan, South Korea, on October 16, and was attended by the Philippine flag-officer-in-comm
The Royal Thai Navy has contracted engineering and risk management consultancy company BMT a contract to support the Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) new midget submarine program. From its offices in Bath, UK, BMT will recommend submarine-specific engineering management best practice to help the RTN minimize
Former Australian Navy frigate ex-HMAS Darwin will not be turned into a dive wreck off the coast of Tasmania as the island state’s government decided not to accept the Commonwealth’s gift. While the frigate was offered for scuttling off the East Coast for free, the Tasmanian government figured out i
Australian shipbuilder ASC said it is cutting up to 63 jobs as work on the Royal Australian Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers comes to a close. ASC is currently in the process of delivering ‘Sydney’ – the final of three destroyers in the class and the company said it was reducing the shipbuilding workfo
Two Royal Canadian Navy ships will be joining US and Japan Self Defense Force units for exercise Keen Sword which is scheduled to start on October 29. According to the US Navy, this will be the first time Canadian Navy ships are taking part in the maritime portion of the exercise. While the US Navy
US Navy divers have completed the removal of fuel oil from the capsized World War II German cruiser, Prinz Eugen, at Enubuj Island in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Working from aboard US naval ship Salvor, divers from Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 1 completed the undertaking on October 15, after 4
