Maritime Reconnaissance News

A U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft flew near the site of the ruptured Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea hours after the first damage emerged, according to tracking reviewed by Reuters, a flight Washington said was routine.Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines burst on Sept. 26, draining gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists registered explosions in the area, and police in several countries have launched investigations.Flight data showed…

The Indian Navy’s Annual Theatre Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX) got underway on 24 Jan 17. The month long exercise will have ships and aircraft of both the Western and Eastern Naval Commands, as also assets from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard exercising together. The exercise is being conducted off the Western Seaboard. The last edition of the exercise was conducted in January 2015. TROPEX has grown in scale and complexity over the years and will see participation of major surface combatants and air assets of the Indian Navy including the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, nuclear submarine Chakra, Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Jalashwa…

Exelis say they have received a $32 million, 5-year IDIQ (indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity) award to supply airborne surveillance radars, spares, support equipment and technical services to the U.S. Coast Guard. The company explains that integrated on the U.S. Coast Guard’s HC-130J Super Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft, the AN/APY-11 multimode radar is designed to support the service’s maritime reconnaissance mission, which includes long-range surveillance, search and rescue, drug interdiction, counterterrorism and maritime environmental support.

Defence IQ releases Survey Data for Maritime Reconnaissance & Surveillance Study which  explores the key threats to global maritime operations. The report, based on a survey of 114 defence professionals from within the maritime domain, also examines the key areas for growth and investment in the market. Furthermore, the study underscores piracy as a key issue within the maritime community and considers what impact counter-piracy operations are having. "The piracy issue is a one that we really wanted to explore in this report. How are navies and governments coping with the threat and what more can be done to effectively combat it? One of the key conclusions that the report identifies is the need for more collaboration between governments, navies and other maritime agencies.

The Navy took delivery of the third low-rate production model Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) on Dec. 21. Formerly known as the Remote Minehunting Vehicle (RMV), the RMMV was originally designed to detect and classify sea mines. The name was changed because RMMV missions are being expanded to include anti-submarine warfare applications and maritime reconnaissance. The RMMV is a robust unmanned, semi-submersible, semi-autonomous vehicle that can be adapted to a broad spectrum of applications and missions, including towing variable-depth sensors to detect, localize, classify and identify undersea threats at a safe distance from friendly ships.

The U.S. Navy has published a new Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Master Plan, the first since 2000. The new plan will serve as a guide for the continued evolution of UUV technologies, increasingly critical components of the 21st century fleet. The plan, completed late in 2004 and approved for publication in January, holds steady on course to develop UUVs' "signature" capabilities-maritime reconnaissance, undersea search and survey, oceanography, communication and navigation aid, and submarine track and trail. At the same time, the plan pushes back the technological boundaries to define a new set of capabilities that will be important going forward. The Navy's new UUV Master Plan depicts four basic classes of tactical UUVs, which are to be developed over the next 10-15 years.

From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Twenty-seven crew members of a sinking Egyptian-flagged cargo vessel were saved approximately 350 miles off the coast of Oman June 24 by the U.S. and British navies. The 24-year-old general cargo ship, Green Glory, reportedly struggled with an engine fire at approximately 5 p.m. the evening of June 23. Heavy seas in the area caused Green Glory to take on water, and a “mayday” call went out at approximately 5:54 p.m. The Royal Navy’s auxiliary ship, RFA Sir Tristram, was the closest coalition ship to the stricken vessel and provided assistance throughout the night. Although Green Glory was able to restart its engines in the middle of the night, the vessel was still dead-in-the-water and continued to flounder. The U.S.