US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries started fabrication of the future amphibious assault ship USS Bougainville (LHA 8) at its Pascagoula shipyard on October 15. LHA 8 is the second ship named in honor of the Bougainville Island campaign in World War II and is scheduled to be delivered in 20
US Navy ships assigned to the Kearsarge amphibious ready group (ARG) completed a live-fire missile exercise (MISSILEX) on October 14. Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) fired one RIM-7P missile from the NATO Sea Sparrow missile launcher and successfully engaged a target simulat
Ships assigned to the US Navy’s Iwo Jima expeditionary strike group (IWOESG) have entered the US 6th Fleet area of operations as part of a deployment in support of NATO exercise Trident Juncture 18. The strike group will join the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group and US 6th Fleet flagship USS Mou
The Brazilian Navy has shortlisted four teams to advance to the next phase of the tendering process for the construction of its new Tamandare-class corvettes. The shortlist was originally expected to be announced by August with a final decision on the winning consortium coming two months later. This
Hollywood actor Gerard Butler visited the Pentagon on Tuesday for a press briefing about a new submarine movie produced in collaboration with the US Navy. Butler plays the commander of the fictional attack sub USS Arkansas in the movie “Hunter-Killer,” due out this week. The movie posits an operatio
Ships assigned to the Kearsarge amphibious ready group (ARG) departed Naval Station Norfolk on October 13 to start the composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX). COMPTUEX is the final pre-deployment exercise that certifies the ARG’s abilities to conduct military operations at sea and project power
Days after wrapping up the deployment’s first Fiji port call, US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) returned to Suva, Fiji, on October 14. USS Shoup previously arrived in Suva as part of the ship’s Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) deployment on October 3. The US Navy did not
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) has become the first US Navy ship to visit Israeli port of Ashdod in nineteen years. USS Ross arrived in Ashdod on October 8, 2018, for a scheduled port visit. As other navy ships usually call the port of Haifa when visiting the country,
The US Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) left the pier at Bath Iron Works (BIW) on October 10 for open sea, General Dynamics Marine Systems said. The newbuilding headed for Boston where she will be commissioned on December 1 into the navy fleet. Launched in April 20
Finland will be hosting a total of 4,000 personnel and over 40 vessels for this year’s edition of the Baltic Sea drill Northern Coasts 2018 (NOCO). This will be the third time Finland is hosting the German Navy-led international exercise. According to the Finnish defense ministry, NOCO18 will involv
The Indian Navy’s Kora-class missile corvette INS Kulish (P63) and naval maritime patrol aircraft Dornier entered Belawan harbor in Indonesia for the opening ceremony of the 32nd edition of India – Indonesia coordinated patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT). The coordinated patrol starts October 11 and is schedu
The AN/SPY-6(V) radar under development for the US Navy achieved a new milestone recently tracking a ballistic missile through intercept for the first time. According to Raytheon, which is in charge of development and delivery of the new system, the radar detected, acquired and tracked multiple targ
US Navy aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) met up with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH 183) in the Philippine Sea for two days of maritime operations during a cooperative deployment on October 9 and 10. During the cooperative deployment, the Ronald R
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) will be joining the largest NATO exercise which is set to take place in Norway later this month. This is likely the first time an aircraft carrier will be taking part in Trident Juncture – an exercise whose 2018 edition is often referred to as on
