Vessels
US Navy approves full rate production of eCASS
With a $166 million contract for the delivery of 63 eCASS stations, the U.S. Navy has approved full rate production of Lockheed Martin’s Electronic Consolidated Automated Support System (eCASS). eCASS provides shore-based and afloat intermediate and depot level maintenance and repair capabilities fo
Future Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) sailors complete crew certification
U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), completed crew certification on February 16, following a three-day fast cruise. “It is the crew that brings the ship to life,” said Capt. Rick McCormack, Ford’s commanding officer. “The crew is at the heart of all that we d
Royal Navy detonates bomb found in Portsmouth Harbour
Dredging works in Portsmouth Harbour have once again unearthed a wartime bomb that was detonated by Royal Navy’s bomb disposal experts on Friday morning. The British-made Armstrong Whitworth munition was found at 2am in the excavator head of a barge dredging the harbour. Dredgers have revealed at le
USS Coronado docks in Brunei on deployment’s first port call
U.S. Navy’s Singapore-based littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) arrived in Brunei for the first scheduled port visit on its deployment on February 16. While in port Coronado will host multiple ship tours and put the embarked MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter on
RFA Wave Knight visits Havana, Cuba
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight visited Havana, Cuba on the latest stop during her Caribbean counter-drug deployment. Other roles of the support ship include flying the flag for Britain in its overseas territories, being on stand-by to help out in the event of a natural disaster and generally prom
South African Navy frigate visits UK ahead of SS Mendi commemoration
South African Navy frigate SAS Amatole visited Plymouth, UK, to mark the sinking of the South African troop ship Mendi 100 years ago off the Isle of Wight which coincides with the nation’s Armed Forces Day. Apart from the commemoration, SAS Amatola will spend a few weeks training with the Flag Offic
Instead of modernizing, Brazil decides to scrap only aircraft carrier
The Brazilian Navy has decided to decommission its aircraft carrier BNS Sao Paulo (A 12), 17 years after acquiring it from the French Navy in 2000. The reason for this decision, as the Brazilian news site DefesaNet reported, was the fact that cost of returning the aircraft carrier to an operational
Canada’s heaviest icebreaker CCGS Louis St Laurent enters dry-dock for refit
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis St Laurent, the country’s heaviest icebreaker, arrived in Quebec, Canada where it was dry-docked for a refit. Work on the refit and upgrades of CCGS Louis St Laurent will be undertaken by Davie Shipbuilding under a $14 million contract announced in January 2017. Durin
US Navy picks Mayport as east coast operating base for MQ-4C Triton
The U.S. Naval Station Mayport will be serving as the East Coast forward operating base for the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). According to a U.S. Navy announcement from February 15, Mayport will be a permanent duty station for about 400 Triton UAS personnel and will support rotational
French frigate rescues mariners in Gulf of Oman
French Marine Nationale anti-air frigate FS Forbin (D620), which is currently part of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 50, assisted in the rescue of mariners from a sinking dhow in the Gulf of Oman on February 13. Having received word of a dhow taking on water, Forbin directed their helicopter, an NH90 w
Exercise Cobra Gold gets underway in Thailand
The 36th iteration of the multilateral exercise Cobra Gold kicked off in Sattahip, Thailand, February 14. Cobra Gold is a Thailand/United States co-sponsored, combined task force and joint theater security cooperation exercise conducted annually in the Kingdom of Thailand. CG 17 will be held Feb. 14
BAE gets $42M for Ticonderoga-class cruiser repairs
The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair a $42 million contract for repair and alteration works on the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69). Under the contract, BAE Systems will perform what is termed as a special selected restricted availability (SSRA). An SSRA is schedu
In first under Trump, Russian jets buzz US destroyer
Russian fighter jets flew “dangerously close” to the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter in the Black Sea in what was the first incident of this kind since the new U.S. president was sworn in. Russian aircraft performed three “unprofessional and unsafe” approaches at the USS Porter in a single day on Feb
Thales to supply CWI transmitters for Danish Navy Absalon, Iver Huitfeldt class ships
Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) has contracted Thales for the delivery of 14 continuous wave illumination (CWI) transmitters for the Danish Navy’s Absalon and Iver Huitfeldt-class vessels. The transmitters are to be integrated in the current ESSM fire control systems on-