Carrier Battle News

During a ceremony organized on July 18, 2023 in Toulon, its home port, the Jacques Chevallier, the first of the four force supply vessels (BRF) of the "Logistics Fleet" program (FlotLog), was received by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) for delivery to the French Navy.Launched in 2019 and built in Saint-Nazaire by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group, the Jacques Chevallier returned to its home port of Toulon in March 2023 to carry out a sea trial campaign dedicated…

Mobile, Ala. based Alabama Shipyard has been awarded a contract for the dry docking of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2).The $21,955,104‬ firm-fixed-price contract for the 123-calendar day shipyard availability includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $22,163,078‬.Work will begin June 15, 2023, and is expected to be completed by October 15, 2023.The 689-foot-long…

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works funding for the planning and construction of two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, DDG 126 and DDG 127. The contract modification fully funds the two ships. DDG 126 was awarded under the contract that was part of a multi-year competition for DDG 51-class destroyers in 2013. DDG 127 was approved by Congress under separate legislation. Dirk Lesko, president of Bath Iron Works, said: “These contracts help to stabilize our business and are welcome news. The contract modification includes funding for the Flight III upgrades on DDG 126. There are currently four DDG 51 destroyers in production at Bath Iron Works: Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) and John Basilone (DDG 122).

Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific announced Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) as the recipient of the 2016 Battle "E" award for aircraft carriers home-ported in the Pacific, March 28. The Commander, Naval Air Forces Carrier Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") competition is held annually to recognize the best performing east and west coast aircraft carriers and award them for demonstrating superior performance and readiness. Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific and Rear Adm. Bruce Lindsey, commander, Naval Air Forces, Atlantic, released a joint message announcing and congratulating the winners of the Battle "E" award. "Congratulations to USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Harry S.

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, a $59 million contract for the continuation of Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Lead Yard Services and Flight III Upgrade design efforts. This contract extends the services for engineering, technical support, special studies and Flight III design work for Arleigh Burke-class ships through December 2017. The Flight III upgrades include a more powerful missile defense radar, increased shipboard power production and hull enhancements. More than 200 highly skilled engineers, designers and planners work on this contract. Since 1987, Bath Iron Works has provided design and technical assistance for design upgrades and major changes for DDG 51-class destroyers.

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a $59 million contract for the continuation of Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Lead Yard Services and Flight III Upgrade design efforts. This contract extends the services for engineering, technical support, special studies and Flight III design work for Arleigh Burke-class ships through December 2017. The Flight III upgrades include a more powerful missile defense radar, increased shipboard power production and hull enhancements. More than 200 highly skilled engineers, designers and planners work on this contract. Since 1987, Bath Iron Works has provided design and technical assistance for design upgrades and major changes for DDG 51-class destroyers.

Russia has withdrawn a request for a carrier battle group to refuel in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said, after NATO allies criticised Madrid for assisting warships they believe could be used to target civilians in Syria. "The Russian Embassy in Madrid has just informed us that it is withdrawing the request for permission for stopovers for these ships and these stopovers have therefore been cancelled," the ministry said. (Reporting by Sarah White)

1812 - The frigate USS Constitution captures the frigate HMS Guerriere, off Halifax, Nova Scotia after an intense battle. 1818 - Capt. James Biddle, as commanding officer of USS Ontario, takes possession of Oregon Territory for United States. 1936 - Lt. B. L. Braun, pilot, completes test bombing against the submarine USS R -8 (SS 85) off the Virginia capes, sinking the old submarine and proving the value of properly armed aircraft in antisubmarine warfare. 1943 - USS Finback (SS 230) sinks the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser (No.109) off the eastern Celebes.

China's government sought to downplay fears of conflict in the South China Sea after an influential state-run newspaper said on Tuesday that Beijing should prepare for military confrontation. Editorials in the Global Times newspaper ahead of a July 12 international court ruling on competing claims in the South China Sea by China and the Philippines said the dispute had already been complicated by U.S. intervention. It faced further escalation due to the threat posed by The Hague-based tribunal to China's sovereignty, the paper said. "Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea, and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China's obedience," the Global Times said.

The U.S. military on Thursday christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a major advance in robotic warfare at the core of America's strategy to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments. The 132-foot-long (40-metre-long) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface for two or three months at a time - without a crew or anyone controlling it remotely.

Chinese navy official Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo confirmed that China plans to put aircraft carrier battle groups to sea, says a report in SCMP. The country will deploy them not only in the disputed East and South China seas, but also to protect the country’s overseas ­interests. Yin Zhuo said that the service intends to create aircraft carrier battle groups to “defend China's sovereignty on the islands and reefs, maritime rights and overseas interests,” an apparent reference to the nation's South China Sea claims. The defence ministry confirmed this year that China was building its second aircraft carrier, its first wholly home-made one.

U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works held a keel-laying ceremony on November 16 for the Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), the company’s 36th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is a multi-mission combatant that offers defense against a range of threats, including ballistic missiles. It operates in support of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups, providing an array of anti-submarine (ASW), anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. Designed for survivability, the ships incorporate all-steel construction and have gas turbine propulsion. The ships feature an AEGIS combat system…

U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) at a ceremony held on its Bath, Maine shipyard on Saturday, October 31. The ship is named for Sgt. Rafael Peralta, U.S. Marine Corps, who was deployed to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was killed November 15, 2004, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in house-to-house urban combat. Sgt. Peralta’s mother, Rosa Maria Peralta, served as the ship's sponsor, officially christening the vessel by breaking a bottle of champagne against its bow.

The U.S. Navy has awarded funding for the construction of DDG 122, the Fiscal Year 2015 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer under contract at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. This $610.4 million contract modification fully funds this ship which was awarded in 2013 as part of a multi-ship competition for DDG 51 class destroyers. The total value of the five-ship contract is approximately $3.4 billion. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is a business unit of General Dynamics. Fred Harris, president of Bath Iron Works, said, "This announcement allows us to continue efforts associated with planning and construction of DDG 122. We appreciate the leadership of Senators Collins and King and the strong support of our entire delegation in matters of national defense.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to allow Tokyo to come to the aid of an ally under attack will pave the way for closer cooperation between U.S. and Japanese forces across Asia, a top U.S. commander said on Tuesday. Expanded training and joint missions could extend from Japan through the disputed South China Sea - claimed in whole or part by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations - into the Indian Ocean. Neither the United States nor Japan have territorial claims in the South China Sea, but the Seventh Fleet operates in the area. A Japanese naval presence there could irritate Beijing. Abe's government plans to submit bills to parliament in coming months to ratify his cabinet's decision last year to allow Japan to exercise its right of collective self-defense.

Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) took delivery of its biggest warship Izumo, since World War II, a vessel that observers say is a "de-facto aircraft carrier". The 19,500-ton destroyer Izumo, measuring 248 meters long and 38 meters wide, allows five helicopters to take off and land simultaneously. It can also load MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft to be purchased by the Ground Self-Defense Force, Japan's Kyodo News reported. The Izumo was indigenously constructed at a shipyard in Yokohama, near Tokyo, at a cost of around $1.5 billion. It is named after the former Izumo province in western Honshu. In Japanese mythology, the entrance to yomi (hell) is located in Izumo.

The Chinese Navy has released the first photographs of what many military observers believe is the 'Liaoning' aircraft carrier battle group reports Xinhua. The photo (reproduced here) shows the Liaoning sailing in company with several battleships, submarines and military aircraft  The Navy did not disclose when and where the picture was taken. The carrier has successfully carried out 37 days of tests and training exercises in the South China Sea and has now returned to a People's Liberation Army 's naval base in Qingdao.

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a contract valued at US$2.8-billion for the construction of four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, with an option for a fifth ship. "This contract adds four ships to our workload in a fiscally challenging and highly competitive environment, and provides a clearer picture of our near-term future," said Jeff Geiger , president of Bath Iron Works. "Continuation of the DDG 51 program provides important work for the men and women of Bath Iron Works and allows us to extend our record of delivering these critical surface combatants to the U.S.

1942 - Carrier aircraft sink Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea. The first day of the carrier battle of Coral Sea, May 7 1942, saw the Americans searching for carriers they knew were present and the Japanese looking for ones they feared might be in the area. The opposing commanders, U.S. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi and Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara, endeavored to "get in the first blow", a presumed prerequisite to victory (and to survival) in a battle between heavily-armed and lightly-protected aircraft carriers.

Escort ships for China's first aircraft carrier, the 'Liaoning', are quietly assembling at Qingdao Harbor & are expected to sail soon. Citing the Hong Kong-based Chinese-language newspaper 'Wen Wei Po' Focus Taiwan reports that the carrier battle group might comprise the Liaoning, four type 052C or 052D destroyers, two type 052B destroyers, two to four type 054A escort ships, one or two type 093 nuclear submarines and one supply ship. The report also said the Liaoning battle group's…

Owners, Kimberley-Clark Corp. Kidder Mathews and Binswanger have been retained by Kimberly-Clark Corporation to sell its exceptionally rare waterfront industrial property in Everett, Wash. The property, immediately adjacent to Naval Station Everett, boasts more than 2,500 linear feet of deep-water industrial shoreline area and a total land area in excess of 66 acres, appealing to a wide variety of businesses and industries, including marine industrial companies. The sales agents expect this waterfront property to appeal to a wide variety of businesses and industries on a national/international basis, including marine industrial companies who will benefit from the deep-water-port component of the property…

From the Navy News Service: 1942 - During the World War II Battle of Makassar Strait, U.S. destroyers attack a Japanese convoy in the first naval surface action in the Pacific. 1986 - The Coral Sea (CV 43) and Saratoga (CV 60) carrier battle groups conduct freedom of navigation exercises in and near the Gulf of Sidra, demonstrating the long-standing United States' refusal to recognize Colonel Khadafi's attampt to include the gulf in Libyan territorial waters, 1991 - Helicopters from USS Leftwich (DD 984) and USS Nicholas (FFG 47) recapture the first Kuwaiti territory from Iraqi forces.

1917 - First Navy ships, Destroyer Division 8, arrive at Queenstown, Ireland, to provide convoy escorts against German U-boats   1942 - Battle of Coral Sea, first carrier vs. carrier battle, begins   1945 - Japanese attempt to land on Okinawa repulsed; kamikaze attacks damage 6 U.S. Navy ships   1961 - Pilot CDR Malcolm D. Ross, USNR, and medical observer LCDR Victor A. Prather, Jr., ascended in two hours to over 110,00 feet in Strato-Lab 5, a 411-foot hydrogen filled balloon launched from from the deck of USS Antietam. This was the highest altitude attained by man in an open gondola. Tragically, Prather drowned during the recovery.   (Source: Navy News Service)