Vessels
UK deploys two warships on NATO missions
The Royal Navy is sending two warships to NATO missions in the Mediterranean Sea, UK’s defense secretary Michael Fallon confirmed at the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Multi-role survey ship HMS Enterprise is already underway and is set to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter
Raytheon bags Japanese Navy destroyer contract
U.S. defense contractor Raytheon has received a $9.6 million contract for work on the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Takanami-class destroyers. The contract was awarded to Raytheon by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command under the foreign military sales program and will see the company deliver laun
US aircraft carrier “Ike” arrives in Canada for 150th anniversary
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on June 28, to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Calling on Halifax, Ike was accompanied by guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto, guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill and replenishm
Talisman Sabre kicks off aboard USS Bonhomme Richard off Sydney
Spreading out the Talisman Sabre 2017 ceremonial flag aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) off the coast of Sydney Australia on June 29 senior leaders of the United States and Australia kicked off Australia’s largest military exercise. In its 7th iteration, Talisman Sabre is a biennial exercise t
USS Porter completes maintenance in Spain
U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) on June 16 became the U.S. Navy ship to complete a 60-day Surface Incremental Availability (SIA) at the Rota naval base in Spain. Porter serves as one of the navy’s four forward deployed guided-missile destroyers home-ported in Rota, Spain t
Hensoldt to take over Kelvin Hughes
German defense contractor and sensor manufacturer Hensoldt is to acquire UK radar specialist Kelvin Hughes after owner ECI Partners agreed to sell its investment in the company. The announcement follows Hensoldt’s acquisition of EuroAvionics in May this year. Hensoldt is a new company, spun off from
US, UK, Norway form P-8A aircraft trilateral partnership for maritime security
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway have signed a statement of intent to outline principles of cooperation on the P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The statement was signed on the outlines of the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Norway and the UK ar
BAE Systems, Leonardo join forces for new precision-guided munitions
BAE Systems and Leonardo are teaming up for the development of new precision-guided munitions for advanced, large caliber weapon systems. The companies are expecting to offer new adaptations of Leonardo’s Vulcano — a family of gun-launched munitions that exceed the performance of currently available
NATO mine countermeasures group changes hands
NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) will be led by a Latvian Navy commander following a change of command ceremony at the Port of Riga on Thursday. Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa of the Estonian Navy turned over command of the group after leading aboard the flagship, Estonian c
US Coast Guard receives 24th fast response cutter Oliver Berry (WPC 1124)
The U.S. Coast Guard accepted its 24th fast response cutter, USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC 1124), in a ceremony at Coast Guard Sector Key West on Tuesday. Built by Bollinger Shipyards, the cutter is 154-feet long and has a crew complement of 24. It will be homeported in Honolulu. The Oliver Berry is tenta
Royal Navy sailors find lost US Navy sonar
A team of Royal Navy sailors aboard the minehunter HMS Bangor helped save the U.S. Navy more than $1 million by finding and recovering a previously lost sonar. The large sonar was lost during the latest Anglo-French-US exercise in the Gulf, Artemis Trident. Although the chief aim of the workout was
Royal Navy air crew helps rescue sunken tanker crew in Indian Ocean
The crew of a Royal Navy helicopter rescued the last survivor of a tanker which sank in the Indian Ocean on June 26. The Wildcat helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth rescued the 13th survivor from tanker Rama 2 which sank 140 miles off the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Yemen. The [
HMS Queen Elizabeth joined by frigates on sea trials
Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was joined by two frigates as she embarked on her maiden sea trials. The frigates’ role is to secure the seas around the aircraft carrier as she conducts vital system tests off the coast of Scotland today. HMS Queen Elizabeth left Rosyth, where s
Australia seeking to maximize local industry content in defense projects
The Australian government is changing its tendering process in an effort to increase the involvement of Australian companies in defense projects. “We are changing the process companies undergo when responding to tenders for defence equipment,” Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said anno