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Naval Base News

28 Feb 2024

Kraken Robotics Delivers Minehunting Systems to Royal Danish Navy

Kraken KATFISH on MSF drone vessels (Credit: Kraken Robotics)

Canadian company Kraken Robotics has completed deliveries and sea acceptance tests of all systems for its minehunting sonar equipment under the contract with Royal Danish Navy.The contract was signed in September 2020, following a competitive bidding process. Under the contract with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), Kraken has delivered four complete turnkey minehunting systems.Each system consists of a KATFISH towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar…

29 Jan 2024

Danish Frigate Departs for the Red Sea

(Photo: Danish Defense)

Denmark on Monday sent a frigate to the Red Sea, where it will participate in a U.S.-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic against attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants.The Iran-aligned Houthi have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at commercial and navy vessels since Nov. 19, in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza.In response, shipping firms have since December diverted hundreds of vessels around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a journey that takes 10-14 days longer and is more costly than the passage via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.Denmark…

19 Jan 2024

Japanese Shipyards to Help Keep US Warships Ready to Fight in Asia

© Adrian / Adobe Stock

The United States and Japan are looking to make a deal for Japanese shipyards to regularly overhaul and maintain U.S. Navy warships so they can stay in Asian waters ready for any potential conflict, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said on Friday."China watches what ships are coming in and out. It is not like this is a secret, they know what's happening. So therefore, they take an evaluation of your deterrence," Emanuel told reporters at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.Unchallenged in Asian waters for decades, the U.S.

12 Jan 2024

Manson Awarded Floating Dry Dock Mooring Facility Contract at Naval Base San Diego

With more than two decades working with NAVFAC SW at NBSD, this will be Manson’s 5th major pier project at this base since 2001. P-443 Pier 6 Replacement (pictured) is the most recently completed pier project. (Photo: Manson Construction)

Seattle based Manson Construction Co. announced it has been selected as the contractor for the P-508 Floating Dry Dock Mooring Facility project.Awarded by Naval Facilities Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW), this $106.9 million project at Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) includes a new ramp pier, retrofitting the mooring wharf, and support facilities for Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) to directly support the operations and maintenance of a new floating dry dock.

06 Oct 2023

Austal Delivers Patrol Boat for Papua New Guinea

The ceremony was attended by Australia’s Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister for Veterans Affairs, The Hon. Matt Keogh MP, and Papua New Guinea Minister for Defence, The Hon. Win Bakri Daki MP. (Photo: Austal)

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 17th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, HMPNGS Gilbert Toropo, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force at a handover ceremony held at the HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat is the fourth of four vessels to be gifted to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project…

21 Sep 2023

U.S. Revives Cold War Submarine Spy Program to Counter China

Credit: noraismail/AdobeStock

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

13 Sep 2023

Norway and Germany to Build Identical Submarines

Source: Norway's MoD

Norway and Germany are setting a new standard for allied cooperation by becoming the first countries to build and operate identical submarines.Norway has opened what it claims is the world’s most modern production facility for conventional submarines, and production has started for a modern conventional submarine, the 212CD.Norway’s Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram said the first of the new submarines will be delivered to Norway in 2029. The contracts cover the acquisition…

05 Sep 2023

South Africa Inquiry Finds No Evidence of Arms Shipment to Russia

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that an independent inquiry has found no evidence that a Russian ship had collected weapons from the country late last year destined for Russia.In claims that sparked a diplomatic row, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, told local journalists in a May briefing that Russian cargo ship Lady R had uploaded weapons at a naval base near Cape Town in December.The U.S. accusations raised questions over South Africa's professed stance of non-alignment and neutrality over Russia's war in Ukraine and concerns of possible Western sanctions.In an address to the nation, Ramaphosa…

13 Aug 2023

Russian Warship Fires Warning Shots at Cargo Ship in Black Sea

A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea. Moscow said that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons.On Sunday, Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection.Russia said the vessel was making its way toward the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

08 Aug 2023

After Attacking Ukraine Wheat Exports, Russia Faces Own Shipping Challenge

© olgavolodina / Adobe Stock

Russia's lack of ships and Western grain traders' shrinking appetite for business with Moscow are adding to rising costs of moving Russian wheat, at a time when the war in Ukraine has spilled perilously close to vital Black Sea supply routes.President Vladimir Putin promised to replace Ukrainian grain with Russian shipments to Africa after Moscow in July ended an arrangement that gave Ukraine's food cargo safe passage in the Black Sea, imposing a de-facto blockade on its neighbour and attacking storage facilities…

04 Aug 2023

Russian Warship Damaged in Ukrainian Attack on Novorossiysk Naval Base

Image for Illustration only - A Russian Navy Ship in Novorossiysk Credit: olgavolodina/AdobeStock

A Russian warship was seriously damaged in an overnight Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia's Black Sea navy base at Novorossiysk, two sources said on Friday, after Russia said it had fended off the attack.The civilian port, which handles 2% of the world's oil supply and also exports grain, temporarily halted all ship movement before resuming normal operations, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which operates an oil terminal there. Russia's Defence Ministry said…

24 Jul 2023

US Commissions First Navy Warship in Foreign Port

The Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) arrives in Sydney, Australia July 18, 2023. The ship was commissioned July 22 in Sydney. (Photo: Julie Ann Ripley / U.S. Navy)

The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a U.S. Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China's expanding regional reach.The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS-30)—named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942—was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbour, officially joining the U.S.

07 Jul 2023

Inside the Subsea Cable Firm Secretly Helping America Take on China

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

29 Jun 2023

Keel Laying for Future USNS Point Loma (EPF 15)

Ship sponsor Mrs. Elizabeth Asher, with the assistance of Perry Sullivan, a 17-year Austal USA veteran A-class welder, authenticated the keel by welding her initials into a keel plate that will be welded to the hull of the ship. Image courtesy Austal USA

Austal USA celebrated the official start of construction of the future USNS Point Loma (EPF 15) with a keel laying ceremony in its Mobile, Ala. shipyard. Ship sponsor Mrs. Elizabeth Asher, with the assistance of Perry Sullivan, a 17-year Austal USA veteran A-class welder, authenticated the keel by welding her initials into a keel plate that will be welded to the hull of the ship.The future USNS Point Loma was named after the San Diego seaside community which has a long-standing naval presence and is home to Naval Base Point Loma…

05 Jun 2023

UAE Stops Taking Part in US-led Gulf Maritime Coalition

© mrnai / Adobe Stock

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it was no longer taking part in operations by a U.S.-led task force protecting Gulf shipping, which has been subjected to renewed tanker seizures by Iranian naval forces in recent weeks.The UAE was responding to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday which, citing U.S. and Gulf sources, said the Gulf state was frustrated by the lack of U.S. response to recent tanker seizures by Iran.This was a "mischaracterisation" of conversations between the two countries…

29 May 2023

South Africa to Investigate U.S. Allegations of Arms Shipment to Russia

Simonstown harbor view - Credit: Adriaan

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to investigate U.S. allegations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town last year, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on May 11 that he was confident that a Russian ship, which docked at a naval base in Simonstown in the Western Cape in December last year, took aboard weapons from South Africa. An allegation South Africa has since denied.

23 May 2023

Strategically Located, Guam's Defense Posture is Growing

The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield (SSN 761) departs Apra Harbor, Guam, Oct. 5. Springfield is one of five submarines assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 15. SUBRON 15 is responsible for providing training, material, and personnel readiness support to five forward-deployed Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines and is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Eric Uhden)

With the rise of China and her global ambitions, the military importance of Guam in the Indo-Pacific theater has become apparent. The force levels on the island had drawn down from a peak of about 26,000 at the height of the Vietnam War to a tenth of that—just 2,500 people in the early 2000s. Today, that's changing. Guam's defense posture is growing.Guam's proximity to major population centers in East Asia underscores its strategic importance. The island is just 1,400 miles from Tokyo, Manilla or Port Moresby. All of the armed services have a presence on Guam.

26 Apr 2023

War Games: US and Philippines Sink Mock Enemy Warship

A U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System fires during a littoral live fire event during Balikatan 23 at the Naval Education, Training and Doctrine Command, Philippines, April 26, 2023.  (Photo: Samuel Fletcher / U.S. Marine Corps)

U.S. and Philippine armed forces unleashed a volley of missiles on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday, in a show of military power and a strengthening alliance at a time of rising regional tension.Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr watched from a four-storey tower as a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) fired rockets at a decommissioned navy corvette in the waters just a few miles off its western province of Zambales.It was the first time the annual U.S.-Philippines "Balikatan" exercises featured live fire drills at sea…

24 Mar 2023

OPV P71 Delivered, New Flagship of Armed Forces of Malta

Image courtesy Cantiere Navale Vittoria

The flag of the Republic of Malta waves on the Offshore Patrol Vessel P71 to celebrate the entry into service of the new flagship of the Armed Forces of Malta built by Cantiere Navale Vittoria.At the AFM naval base in Floriana, Valletta, the official delivery ceremony was held for the largest patrol vessel ever built by Cantiere Navale Vittoria. The 75-m unit, built in Italy, will be used in coastal surveillance operations, extended patrolling on the high seas and Search and Rescue operations.OPV P71 is the result of an order with a total value of more than 50 million euros…

22 Mar 2023

China Firm Wins Solomon Islands Port Project as Australia Watches On

The Solomon Islands has awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank, an official of the island nation said on Wednesday.The United States and its allies, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan, have held concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year."This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces…

17 Mar 2023

Lessons Learned from the USS Bonhomme Richard Fire

Fire rages on board USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) at Naval Base San Diego, July 12, 2020. (Photo: Austin Haist / U.S. Navy)

Shipboard fire a constant threat: Bonhomme Richard tragedy an enduring lesson in fire prevention, responseJuly 12, 2020 was a lazy Sunday morning at Naval Base San Diego. USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), which had been commissioned only two years earlier, had recently made the base its new homeport and was docked as it underwent a maintenance availability.But, the silence of that morning was rocked by an explosion a few minutes before 9 a.m., changing everything for the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.Below the decks…

14 Mar 2023

Australia Outlines $245 Billion Nuclear Submarine Plan

(Photo: Defense Australia)

Australia's nuclear-powered submarine program with the United States and Britain will cost up to A$368 billion ($245 billion) over the next three decades, a defense official said on Tuesday, the country's biggest single defense project in history.U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines, a major step to counter China's…

22 Feb 2023

UK Royal Navy's Experimental Ship Starts Sea Trials

(Photo: Royal Navy)

The U.K. Royal Navy’s NavyX trials ship, XV (eXperimental Vessel) Patrick Blackett, left Portsmouth Naval Base to undergo sea acceptance trials - ensuring the vessel and its onboard equipment is fully functioning and ready to support innovative experimentation.The ship will be used by NavyX innovation and autonomy team to independently test and trial novel technologies, including unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles, paving the way for advanced experimentation, innovation and future capabilities within the Royal Navy.

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