U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance became the first U.S. warship to dock in the Kingdom of Tonga as it completed a four-day port call in the northern port of the kingdom, May 10. In 2011, USS Cleveland (LPD 7) anchored offshore, as did USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) in
Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) departed their Norfolk homeport May 14 for a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations. Stout recently completed a training cycle in preparation for deployment while simultaneously assisting two o
The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Romania was deemed as operationally certified in a ceremony held in Deveselu, May 12, and thereby marked a key milestone to complete Phase II of the European Phased Adaptive Approach. This ballistic missile defense system represents an increase in the capab
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems a $76,1 million contract for the procurement of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) Block I production material. Raytheon’s ESSM missile is an international upgrade of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile. The missile was developed by
The U.S. Navy has once again challenged China in the South China Sea by sailing a destroyer near a Chinese disputed reef. The latest sail by is the third time a U.S. warship has exercised the ‘freedom of navigation’, a maritime principle the U.S. Navy calls upon when it sails in the disputed areas.
Lockheed Martin Canada has awarded Saab a contract to add optronic sensors to the Canadian Navy’s Ceros 200 fire control directors. The Ceros 200 is a radar and optronic fire control director for naval ships which equips all of Canada’s Halifax-class frigates along with a land-based test site. When
Commander Janice G. Smith became the first immigrant of Jamaican descent to command a destroyer when she assumed command of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) during a ceremony held at Naval Station Norfolk, May 2. Smith, from Morris Hall District, Saint Cathe
The U.S. Navy is progressing armament testing for its newly developed littoral combat ships. Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has been contracted for the equipment and flight test support services for the second phase of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) foreign comparative testing (FCT) demonst
The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a $29.4 million contract to maintain the USS Gettysburg (CG 64). The contract includes options that if exercised would raise the total value to $31.8 million. The special selected restricted availability of the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser will begin
Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Toledo (SSN 769) returned to Naval Submarine Base New London following a regularly scheduled deployment, April 25. Under the command of Toledo, Ohio, native Cmdr. Michael Majewski, Toledo and crew returned from a deployment to the U.S. Central Command area
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division on April 27th marked the start of fabrication for the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) for the U.S. Navy. The start of fabrication signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut. “This is a significant
Leaders of the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) brought the exercise to a close and highlighted the need to continue training with scenarios that are likely to occur in real life in order to keep waterways safe. The exercise “raised the bar in terms of reality,” said Vice Adm. Ke
Sailors aboard guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) operating in the South China Sea remember USS Sigsbee (DD 502). On April 14, 1945, a kamikaze plane struck Sigsbee during the battle of Okinawa, killing 23 Sailors and causing extensive damage to the ship. The same day, 71 years later,
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) arrived in Kiel for a scheduled port visit, April 23. Such port visits serve to enhance U.S.-German relations as the two nations work together for a stable, secure and prosperous region. “Although this is only a short stop we are
