Some 6,000 U.S. military members have started the 2017 edition of the exercise Northern Edge which is taking place at the Gulf of Alaska and around central Alaska ranges from May 1-12. NE17, a biennial Pacific Command contingency exercise, prepares joint U.S. forces to respond to crises in the Indo-
Following a successful ballistic missile defense test of the U.S. Navy’s next-generation Air and Missile Defense Radar in March this year, the Navy now awarded Raytheon a contract for the construction of the first three units. Under a $327.1 million contract, Raytheon is to build three low-rate init
U.S. Navy destroyers USS Sterett and USS Dewey arrived in Hong Kong on April 29 for their first foreign port visit on their Western Pacific deployment. The command staff of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 31 and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104), along with an embark
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) arrived in Homer, Alaska, April 29 for a scheduled port visit prior to their participation in Exercise Northern Edge 2017. Northern Edge is a biennial training exercise conducted in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Comple
The U.S. Navy announced it would christen its newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the future USS Indiana (SSN 789), on Saturday, April 29, at Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who previously served as the 50th governor of Indiana, will de
The U.S. Navy said it carried out four flight tests of the surface-to-air Standard Missile-6 Block I (SM-6 Blk I) off the Hawaiian coast between April 6 and 13. These tests marked the next step toward the SM-6 Blk I’s achievement of full operational capability. In addition, the navy said these were
The U.S. Navy, together with Raytheon, completed the preliminary design review (PDR) for the new Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, confirming system development is on track for delivery to the designated ship classes. EASR is the U.S. Navy’s advanced radar for aircraft carriers and amphibious warfa
The U.S Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $95.5 million contract modification to continue development of the Common Missile Compartment for the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class submarine and the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought-class ballistic-missile submarine. The contract modification will enab
U.S. Navy’s Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) tested its SeaRAM missile against an aerial drone, destroying the target in a test off the Southern California coast, April 22. The drone was simulating an anti-ship missile as part of a combat system ship qualification trials
Naval units from the U.S. and Egypt kicked off the bilateral exercise Eagle Salute in the Red Sea on April 23. Eagle Salute 2017 incorporates Eagle Response 2017, an explosive ordnance exercise, to provide opportunities for participating nations to collaborate on an even wider range of maritime secu
The U.S. Navy and Air Force achieved a historic milestone last week when an Air Force KC-135 tanker refueled the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. A Naval Air Station Patuxent River P-8A Poseidon was refueled by a 459th Air Refueling Wing KC-135. “The 459th and the Air Force Reserve Com
USS Michigan (SSGN 727), a U.S. Navy guided missile submarine, arrived at Busan, South Korea on April 25. Michigan’s arrival to South Korea was seen as a show of force to North Korea which was celebrating 85 years of the founding of its military. The port visit is also likely to provoke a reaction f
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $13 million contract for work on the U.S. and UK Trident II submarine launched ballistic missile programs. Under the contract, which is potentially worth $46 million if all options are exercised, General Dynamics will perform alterations on
U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) made a stop in Haakonsvern, Norway, en route to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. The cruiser arrived in Norway on April 20 after departing its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, March 27. “Port visits such as this are unco
