Rimpac News

The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive, especially for warships at the far end of the supply chain.

Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before being sunk about 50 miles north of Kauai in about 15…

IMO announced that the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) will be removed on 01 Jan 2023. It was a rare but really reassuring example that international cooperation can be successful.Meanwhile at the time of this writing, the war in Ukraine carries on. Ukranian resistance has been bolstered by very significant western democracy support in the form of weapons supply that have done a great job of stopping Russia in its tracks. However, the Ukranian Crisis shows it is extremely difficult…

The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, and took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug.

The United States' Department of Navy (DoN) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Experimentation Cell (DoN SEC) connects SBIR innovators with the DoN experimentation community to deliver innovative solutions for the warfighter.“Our mission is to support the SBIR community from the first idea to experiment execution by offering beginning-to-end facilitation, mentoring, and training in all aspects of experimentation,” said Scott Bartlett, the DoN SEC program manager,Naval experimentation can validate or inform concepts of operations…

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, navies adjusted how they operate at home and while deployed, to keep their forces ready for any missions as they keep their Sailors, families, communities, as well as allies and partners safe from the coronavirus.Navies have taken a number of prudent preventative measures to limit outbreaks, mitigate cases of infection and reduce the community spread of the virus.Speaking during his May 29 “On The Horizon: Navigating the European and African Theaters” podcast, Admiral James G. Foggo III, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, said The U.S.

Navies operate on a spectrum between deterrence and defense, to include offensive operation, support of foreign policy, and power projection to civil affair and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Many have constabulary responsibilities, and it could be argued that, with the exception of the largest navies, most are more like a coast guard than a military force in their normal responsibilities.Every Navy is different. Yes, they all share similar challenges of acquisition…

Naval and merchant maritime experts partnered together to deliver enhanced maritime domain awareness (MDA) for the first time in a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in 2018.MDA is the ability to maintain situational awareness of seagoing vessel movements, and is used to assess the normal patterns of life on major trade routes. Their interaction provided an adaptive capability that is an important part of maritime security operations.This capability is a critical supporting element in the effort to maintain freedom of navigation…

Royal Australian Navy will commission the first of three new destroyers today (On 23 September). In continuing our reflective stories of previous ships that have carried the name HMAS Hobart, this is the story of Hobart (II). The second ship to bear the name Hobart was one of three Perth class guided missile destroyers built in the United States for the Royal Australian Navy. She was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 18 December 1965 under the command of Captain Guy Griffiths. Following sea trials and exercises in the United States and Canadian waters, Hobart arrived in her namesake city on 1 September 1966. She berthed in her home-port of Sydney for the first time on 7 September 1966.

The U.S. and Philippine navies will participate in the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama June 19-25 in the vicinity of Cebu. Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama is designed to enhance the complexity and diversity of training opportunities, while strengthening the longstanding alliance between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines. The exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness. "The training we will perform over the next week will provide excellent opportunities to deepen our long-time maritime partnership with the Philippine Navy," said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander, Task Force 73.

The call of 'last line!' meant a little more than normal as HMAS Darwin slipped from the wharf at Fleet Base West and set sail for Sydney recently. It signalled the end of the warship's long association with the west coast of Australia, unlikely to return before she decommissions at the end of the year. The Adelaide class frigate called Western Australia home for almost 13 years from 18 December 1993, before being relocated to Fleet Base East on 21 April 2006. Darwin's Maritime Logistics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Chris Duke, served aboard the warship during the change of home port and the final visit to Fleet Base West. "This is the third time I have been posted to Darwin. In 1993 I was an Able Seaman Writer, conducting personnel management and administration functions," he said.

Staff from Brisbane-based 1st Division/Deployable Joint Force Headquarters joined other Defence representatives for an amphibious force staff exercise in Townsville in October. Conducted by the Amphibious Task Group, the exercise provided an opportunity for personnel representing the key enablers of Australia’s amphibious capability to discuss the future. Joining in were personnel from HMA Ships Canberra, Adelaide and Choules, Army's Forces Command and 3rd Brigade, Director General – Land, Maritime Operations, 5th Aviation Regiment and Combat Training Centre. Colonel Terence Dunne, United States Marine Corps, who is posted to the Joint Force Headquarters and in charge of amphibious capability and development…

Hydrocomp’s ProCad facilitates in-house Process Control of Propeller Design and Manufacture. Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. (MARTAC) is a Florida-based company building next-generation unmanned vessels for military applications. In preparation for the “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) military exercises in Pearl Harbor this last July, MARTAC needed a new propeller design for their MANTAS series high-speed vessels. Unfortunately, their current supplier was not meeting delivery schedules for the high-quality surface-piercing propellers that they need…

The world is closely watching several contentious flash points that have potential to ignite. The behavior and rhetoric of China and Russia regarding vital shipping lanes in international waters have been alarming. Disputed sovereignty claims and efforts to enforce them have the maritime world on edge. China’s nine-dash line claims about owning the entire East and South China Sea have created a dilemma for themselves and the other nations in the region. The Philippines v. China case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague commenced on Jan.

The U.S. Navy's first littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) experienced a casualty to one of its main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) on July 11 reportedly caused by a leak from the attached seawater pump mechanical seal that resulted in seawater entering the engine lube oil system, according to the Navy. The ship’s crew addressed the leak, enabling Freedom to return to homeport July 13 on her own power for repairs on a separate, unrelated issue. While in port, the crew performed seawater contamination procedures.

Vice President Joe Biden visited the Sailors aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) July 14, while the ship and John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) were participating in the Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise. The visit, which occurred just one day before the six-month mark of their current deployment, gave Biden an opportunity to thank the crew, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, and embarked Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and strike group staffs, for the work they have done operating in the the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and specifically the South China Sea. "I am humbled and I am honored to be here with you today," said Biden. Biden…

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and  Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar agreed  to strengthen their cooperation on maritime security, as concerns grow in Washington over Beijing's growing military ambitions. Carter is in New Delhi to bolster a strategic relationship Washington considers crucial in the face of what it sees as China's rising assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea. He and Parrikar visited the Indian Naval Base in Karwar and the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier. They also visited the USS Blue Ridge which was conducting a port call in Goa during the secretary’s visit. “Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of maritime security,” said a joint statement issued after Carter held talks with Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

China has confirmed it will send warships to join a major US-hosted naval drill this summer, even as tension between the world’s two largest economies mounts over the South China Sea, reports Reuters. The Naval exercise Rimpac (Rim of the Pacific ) is  the world's largest international maritime drill, held every two years in Hawaii in June and July. The U.S. and its allies have expressed growing concern over the Asian giant’s military buildup, as well as its increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea. “Joining these military exercises will be beneficial to improving the Chinese navy’s ability to contend with non-traditional security threats,” Wu Qian, a spokesman of China’s Ministry of Defense, told a regular briefing.

U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Scott Swift questioned the motive behind China deploying submarines for anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean, reports PTI. The comments come in the backdrop of India’s growing concerns over rapid expansion of Chinese maritime capabilities and creation of facilities in the Indian Ocean region to support its forces. “It’s hard for me as a maritime commander to understand how can a submarine support anti-piracy operations?”, he said. Admitting that a raising power like China would secure its assets and resources, he noted with concern that the issue was the "lack of transparency and intent" on the part of the China.

Day after day, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct its 11 statutory missions with its limited resources. It is challenged to Invest in long-term operational capacity while continuing to carry out its daily missions. “We’re a small service, but as always, we do punch above our weight class,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft during the 2015 Surface Navy Association symposium in Arlington, Virginia. While the Coast Guard may have drifted off course with its ambitious and holistic Deepwater recapitalization effort…

USS Peleliu (LHA 5) returned to Naval Base San Diego Dec. 24 from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific. Upon return, the ship will make preparations to decommission in March after 34 years of service, 17 deployments and more than a million miles transited, and as the last remaining Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship. During the ship's deployment Peleliu, its crew, Commander, Amphibious Squadron Three, Special Purpose Marine Task Force Three and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 participated in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 as part of U.S. 3rd Fleet. Upon assignment to 7th Fleet, the ship embarked Commander, Amphibious Force Seventh Fleet…

As part of a 2011 Presidential directive, the Departments of Navy, Energy, and Agriculture have announced that three companies have been awarded contracts to construct and commission biorefineries capable of producing "drop-in" biofuels to meet the transportation needs of the military and private sector, according to the Navy News Service. Made through the Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Protection Act (DPA) of 1950, the awards support the Administration's goals to boost and diversify the domestic fuel supply base, make American warfighters less beholden to volatile oil markets, and strengthen national security. "The contracts being announced today will help expand the operational capability of our Navy and Marine Corps around the world," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

It was the middle of May, and the littoral combat ship Independence was operating out of San Diego, testing components of the mine warfare mission package. The mission is one that, except for several extended overhaul periods, has consumed much of the ship’s operating time since the class-leading vessel was commissioned in January 2010. Word then came down from the highest levels of US Navy leadership — Independence was going to Pearl Harbor to take part in the world’s largest naval exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). The event, held every two years, was only weeks away from beginning. To get there on time, the LCS would have to rapidly switch gears — offloading the mine equipment…