Canada: “Cyclone maritime helicopters delayed again amid dispute” CBC News, 11 February 2013 The parent company of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation has admitted that it could take another two years before the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) receives its CH-148 Cyclone multi-role helicopters. The admission came in the form of the United Technologies Corporation’s annual report, …
Read more »United States: “Navy cuts fleet goal to 306 ships” & “U.S. Navy: Sequester Means Strike Groups Could Stay Home” Navy Times, 04 February 2013 & Defense News, 24 January 2013 The US Navy (USN) has reduced its fleet size requirement from 313 to 306 ships, though this move is apparently separate from sequestration-related measures outlined …
Read more »United States / Philippines: “Trapped U.S. Navy Minesweeper To Be Broken Up” Defense News, 28 January 2013 The US Navy (USN) has announced that it has no choice but to break up the 1,312-ton minesweeper that ran aground on a coral reef in the Sulu Sea off the the Philippines coast on January 17th. Navy …
Read more »World: “World sea piracy falls to five-year low in 2012″ Associated Press, 17 January 2013 According to statistics released by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), world sea piracy dropped to a five-year low in 2012. The report says that total piracy attacks decreased by 32 percent last year, with a total of 297 piracy attacks, …
Read more »United States: “USS Jacksonville Strikes Vessel in Arabian Gulf” Maritime Executive, 11 January 2013 The US Navy’s nuclear submarine USS Jacksonville has returned to an American base in Bahrain after one of its two periscopes was damaged in a collision in the Arabian Gulf on Thursday. Reports say that the boat’s periscope was sheared off, …
Read more »Canada: “Military makes temporary repairs to damaged hull of HMCS Athabaskan” & “HMCS Athabaskan damaged after repair problems” Montreal Gazette, 07 January 2013 & CBC News, 03 January 2012?? The Canadian Forces recently reported that temporary repairs have been successfully made to the hull of HMCS Athabaskan, which suffered damage while it was being towed …
Read more »Canada: “HMCS Windsor Returns To Sea” Defence Watch blog, 14 December 2012 The conventional attack submarine HMCS Windsor returned to sea last week following an extended docking work period (EDWP). The boat will now follow a Tiered Readiness Program similar to that performed by Victoria, Windsor‘s sister vessel and the only one of the four …
Read more »Canada: “Royal Canadian Navy Assists In Large Drug Bust”?? Canadian Forces press release, 05 December 2012?? HMCS Ottawa, which is currently on a 44-day deployment to the Caribbean, participated in a drug bust southeast of Costa Rica on November 28th. While patrolling in international waters near Isla de Coco, Ottawa assisted a US Coast Guard …
Read more »United States: “Senate strikes restriction on military biofuel development” Chicago Tribune, 28 November 2012 The US Senate voted 62-37 last Wednesday to remove a clause in their version of the Nation Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have effectively removed the military’s ability to develop alternative fuels for its vehicles, though the Senate NDAA must …
Read more »United States: “Military communications satellites go into service” Spaceflight Now, 25 November 2012 The US military announced that two communications satellites launched earlier this year have entered operational service, including one that will replace the Navy’s existing data communications network. The Mobile User Objective (MUO) System satellite was launched via an Atlas rocket in February …
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