The US Navy ships recently rescued distressed crews of two fishing boats in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. On October 7-8, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) provided assistance to seven mariners whose fishing boat had suffered an engine malfunction, renderi
US Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) met up with Royal Thai Navy patrol vessel HTMS Krabi (OPV 551) and frigate HTMS Taksin (FFG 422) for a cooperative deployment in the East China Sea on Oct. 9. The event focused on navigation, communication and ship handling skills, improving intero
Royal Navy frigate HMS Kent formally rejoined the fleet in a ceremony on October 5, after undergoing an 18-month keel-to-mast revamp. The Type 23 frigate’s most significant upgrades included a new command system and the Sea Ceptor missile system. Replacing the veteran Seawolf across the fleet, Sea C
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) helicopter carrier JS Kaga and guided-missile destroyer JS Inazuma arrived at Visakhapatnam, India, on October 7 as part of the Indo-Southeast Asia Deployment 2018. The JMSDF task group, commanded by Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada, Commander, Escort Flotilla
The US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) arrived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on October 6. As the first US Navy ship to visit Port Moresby since USS Comstock (LSD 45) in 2017, Michael Murphy arrives as the nation prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperatio
The US Navy will christen the newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), at a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on October 6. Launched in July this year, the future Frank E. Petersen Jr. will be the 71st Arleigh Burke
The annual IBSAMAR maritime exercise organized between the navies of Brazil, India and South Africa kicked off at Simons Town, South Africa, on October 1. The two-week exercise changes hosts every year, with the previous edition taking place in India. The exercise is designed to build interoperabili
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia announced it has received a contract extension for the maintenance of four US Navy destroyers forward-deployed to the Spanish Navy base Rota. The original contract first entered into force in November 2013 and includes one-year extension options until November 2020. Acco
Ships and personnel from the US, Spain, Germany and France concluded the four-day Smart Defense Exercise (SMARTEX) on September 28. SMARTEX is a NATO initiative designed to enhance interoperability and training between participating countries. During the exercise, Spanish sailors embarked aboard the
In an effort to fine-tune the 3-D printing process, the US Office of Naval Research and Lockheed Martin have teamed up to explore how to apply artificial intelligence to train robots to independently oversee—and optimize—3-D printing of complex parts. As explained by Lockheed, high-value and intrica
The Mexican Navy’s Patrulla Oceánica de Largo Alcance (POLA) corvette is now 78 percent complete as the command bridge – the final Dutch-built module – arrived at the ASTIMAR 20 shipyard in Oaxaca late August. The Mexican Navy announced on Wednesday that the module had been installed and that a cere
The US Navy has awarded two contracts totaling over $9 billion for the construction of Flight III configuration Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. Awarded on September 27, the fiscal years (FY) 2018 – 2022 multiyear procurement (MYP) contracts will see General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (G
Indian shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) has contracted German submarine specialist thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for work on the overhaul of the Indian Navy’s Type 209 submarine INS Shishumar. The exact value of the contract was not revealed and TKMS only said it received a “high two
Groton-based shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat has delivered the 17th Virginia-class submarine to the US Navy. The future USS South Dakota (SSN 790) was delivered in a ceremony on Sept. 24. The ship began construction in 2013 and is scheduled to commission in early 2019. South Dakota is the
