The UK Royal Marines first improved Merlin Mk4 performed its maiden flight earlier in the week at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. Working under a 2014-contract worth £330 million (€400), engineers from Leonardo are converting 25 Royal Air Force AW101 Merlin Mk.3 and Mk3A helicopters to replac
The U.S. Navy is set to christen its thirteenth Virginia-class submarine USS Illinois on October 29. The christening ceremony will take in Groton, Connecticut, where the boat was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat. What makes USS Illinois stand out is that it is a Block III Virginia ship incorp
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding (NASSCO) a $34.5 million contract for the post shakedown availability of USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB 3). During the maintenance works, NASSCO will also upgrade the ship to allow it to support special operations forces. Lt. Cm
The Canadian government has started one of the country’s largest and most complex procurement projects by announcing the start of a design competition for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) fleet. Irving Shipbuilding, the prime contractor for the project, released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has contracted Swedish defense contractor Saab to deliver an integrated combat system for the two new Royal Australian Navy replenishment ships. According to Saab, the contract is worth SEK 226 million (approx US$25 milion). Helicopter control radar and decoy system are
U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) wrapped up its mission of supporting the French Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group. Ross was part of a destroyer squadron in charge of protecting the aircraft carrier from attacks thereby enabling it to launch fighter jets to carry out airst
The crew of the Australian minehunter HMAS Huon has found a missing American World War II plane during a mine clearance operation in the Solomon Islands. The South West Pacific nation was the scene of bitter fighting between US and Japanese forces from 1942 until 1945. At the request of the United S
General Dynamics Electric Boat has contracted BAE Systems to start the production of Virginia Payload Module (VPM) tubes for Block V Virginia-class (SSN 774) submarines. This initial award will fund work related to certification, special tooling, and other items related to production readiness, BAE
The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Center for Cyber Security Studies in Maryland, on October 21. The center is being established to allow the expansion of the Naval Academy’s cyber program, which includes a cyber operations major and required cyber curriculum fo
The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded defense company Engility a $71 million contract to deliver systems engineering on U.S. naval aircraft and weapons systems. As part of the contract, Engility will assess the technical performance, suitability and risks of aircra
The French Government Defense procurement agency Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) has contracted submarine specialist DCNS to deconstruct its decommissioned Redoutable-class ballistic missile submarines. Built between 1964 and 1982, the SSBNs were gradually replaced by the four Triomphant-clas
EUNAVFOR operation Sophia has started training activities with the Libyan Navy and Coast Guard this week, and will continue doing so over the next three months. The training is taking place on board of two EUNAVFOR MED vessels on the high seas for 78 embarked trainees and their mentors. The initial
The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard ship that seized 5,600 pounds (2,540 kilos) of cocaine and arrested five smugglers in September this year are set to return home to San Diego where they will offload the contraband on October 27. With the assistance of a U.S. Navy aircraft, the crew of Coast Guard Cutt
The U.S. Coast Guard released a request for information (RFI) for the polar icebreaker acquisition program which aims to boost the service’s current fleet. The Coast Guard currently has only two operational icebreakers, the 1976-commissioned Polar Star and the younger cutter Healy, commissioned in 2
