Naval Post

NATO Ships Participate In Italian Mine Warfare Exercise 22, Mare Aperto

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) participated in Exercise Mare Aperto-Italian Mine Warfare Exercise 22 (ITA MINEX-22) in the Mediterranean Sea May 13-27. Exercise Mare Aperto-ITA MINEX 22 was an opportunity for NATO to enhance its mine countermeasures skills during realistic, complex, and challenging scenarios with the aim of increasing combat readiness while assuring…

U.S. Navy Announces 28th RIMPAC Exercise

Twenty-six nations, 38 surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 170 aircraft and approximately 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise scheduled June 29 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. As the world’s largest…

U.S. and Bahrain Begin Exercise Neon Defender

Forces from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States began a 10-day military exercise Neon Defender in and off the coast of Bahrain, May 8. Exercise Neon Defender is an annual bilateral training event between U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Bahrain Defence Force. The Bahrain Coast Guard is also participating. The exercise focuses on maritime security operations,…

Lockheed Martin launches LCS 29, the future USS Beloit

The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 29, the future USS Beloit. Ship sponsor, Major General Marcia M. Anderson, USA (Ret.) christened Littoral Combat Ship LCS 29, the future USS Beloit, prior to its launch into the Menominee River at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) Shipyard on May 7, 2022. “Lockheed Martin is confident that the sailors of Littoral…

U.S. Navy christens and conducts first in-water test of ORCA XLUUV

The U.S. Navy marked an important milestone in its effort to develop reliable undersea capability with the christening and first in-water test of the Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) Test Asset System April 28, 2022 in Huntington Beach, California. Capt. Scot Searles, program manager for Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406), representatives from the office of the Deputy…

Advanced multinational exercise ESP MINEX-22 in Balearic waters.

From April 25th to May 6th the international exercise ESP MINEX-22 will take place off the Balearic Archipelago with participation of 14 surface ships and a helicopter, with a total workforce of 700 people from 9 different nations and organizations. ESP MINEX-22 is an advanced multinational mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise organized and commanded by the Spanish Navy in the Mediterranean Sea…

Construction of Royal Navy’s new frigates begins in Scotland

The future Royal Navy fleet today started to take shape as the construction of the first of five new frigates began. In the brand-new assembly hall in Rosyth dockyard in Scotland, the keel of HMS Venturer was laid in a ceremony which blended cutting-edge shipbuilding with naval history. The construction of the fleet will support around 2,500 jobs both at Babcock and nationally through the UK…

U.S., Iceland Wrap Up Exercise Northern Viking 2022

Out at sea, French, German and Norwegian surface combatants were joined by American and German maritime patrol aircraft in a hunt for adversary submarines while small boats from Arlington and Icelandic vessels conducted visit, board, search and seizure missions on suspect vessels. CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters buzzed overhead as two landing craft, air cushions from the San Antonio-class…

Navantia begins construction of first F110 frigate

Navantia has started the construction process of the new F-110 class frigate for Spanish Navy, with the cutting of the first steel plate in an event presided by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The programme, whose implementation order was signed in 2019, foresees the construction of five frigates, valued at 4,320 million euros. The F-111 will be commissioned in 2027 and deliveries will…

BAE Systems to modernize the destroyer USS Mustin

BAE Systems has received a $89.4 million contract from the U.S. Navy to perform major modernization work aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89). The value of the competitively awarded contract could reach $95.2 million if all options are exercised. Under the depot maintenance period (DMP) availability contract awarded, BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair will…

Navantia delivers the 1st Avante 2200 corvette to Royal Saudi Navy

Navantia delivered today to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) the first of five Avante 2200 class corvettes built in its shipyards in the Bay of Cadiz, in a ceremony held at the facilities of the Naval Base of La Carraca, in San Fernando (Cádiz). The delivery ceremony of the vessel 546, named HMS AL-JUBAIL, was attended by the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Force, Vice Admiral Fahad Bin…

U.S. and Israeli Navy Begin Exercise Intrinsic Defender

U.S. 5th Fleet and the Israeli Navy kicked off a 10-day maritime exercise, Intrinsic Defender, March 27 that will take place in and off the coast of Israel. Intrinsic Defender is a bilateral exercise between U.S. and Israeli naval forces. The Intrinsic Defender exercise focuses on maritime security operations, explosive ordnance disposal, health topics and unmanned systems integration. More…

China is Preparing to Challenge the Benign Hegemony (USA) Particularly on the Seas

By Antonio Bufis A few days ago we heard that the Chinese Carrier Strike Group, headed by PLA Liaoning, successfully completed its training in combat at sea.  A training operation that lasted more than 20 days, and saw China’s Carrier Strike Group carry out their operations in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, entering the western Pacific waters through the Miyako Strait and conducting a…

First USMC F-35C Squadron Deploys

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) has marked a key milestone for Marine Corps history as they departed San Diego Bay with Carrier Air Wing Nine aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as the first Marine squadron to deploy the F-35C on an aircraft carrier. “The Black Knight’s deployment of F-35C Lightning II aboard USS Abraham Lincoln is the newest…

U.S. Navy Seizes 1,400 Assault Rifles During Illicit Weapons Interdiction

U.S. 5th Fleet ships seized approximately 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition from a stateless fishing vessel during a flag verification boarding in accordance with customary international law in the North Arabian Sea, Dec. 20. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ships USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Typhoon (PC 5) found the weapons during a search conducted by embarked U.S. Coast Guard…

Egypt begins local manufacturing of MEKO A200 frigate

By Mahmoud Gamal On the sidelines of the second edition of Egypt International Defense Exhibition EDEX-2021, the Egyptian military-owned Alexandria shipyard announced that the construction process of the fourth and last Egyptian Navy MEKO A200 frigates has started at the company’s construction facility in Alexandria, in cooperation with the Germany-based Thysskenkrupp (TKMS). Egyptian MEKO A200…

Australia launched the 1st Arafura-class patrol boat

The first of 12 Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels – NUSHIP Arafura – was launched yesterday at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia, Australia Ministry of Defence announced. First Assistant Secretary Ships Division, Sheryl Lutz, said the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels were one of the foundational projects in the 2017 Naval Shipbuilding Plan. “Luerssen Australia is contracted…