United States: “Navy Conducts Successful Test of Aerial Refueling with X-47B, UCAS-D Program Ending” USNI News, 22 April 2015 The US Navy’s experimental X-47B UAV (Salty Dog 502) unlocked a new achievement on Wednesday when it successfully performed an aerial refueling for the first time. Salty Dog 502 manoeuvred behind an Omega 707 refueling plane and […]
United States: “U.S. military challenged maritime claims of 19 countries in 2014” Reuters, 25 March 2015 The Pentagon released its annual Freedom of Navigation report on March 23rd, in which it outlines the 19 countries that the US Navy (USN) challenged over their maritime claims. US policy since 1983 has been to challenge claims that could be […]
NATO: “Nato MARCOM conducts Exercise Trident Jewel” Naval Technology, 19 March 2015 NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is conducting Exercise Trident Jewel, an 11-day full operational capability certification exercise designed to test MARCOM’s ability to manage a joint multinational response to a non-Article V crisis in a fictitious non-NATO nation. MARCOM will practice taking command of […]
United States: “U.S. budget cuts erode crisis response of Navy, Marines: officials” Reuters, 10 March 2015 The US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, has said that spending cuts have left the US Navy and the Marine Corps (USMC) less capable of responding to crisis situations. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Greenert voiced […]
Canada: “Making waves: The Navy’s Arctic ambition revealed” Globe and Mail, 05 March 2015 The Royal Canadian Navy recently revealed the design of its future Harry DeWolf-class Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS), as well as the Government of Canada’s larger vision for its future operations in the High North. Up to six of the 6,440-tonne, 103-metre-long ships will […]
United States: “Coast Guard Analysis Says U.S. Needs 3 Heavy and 3 Medium Icebreakers, Path to Ships Unclear” USNI News, 25 February 2015 An independent analysis has found that the US Coast Guard (USCG) will require at least three heavy and three medium icebreakers to meet American needs in the polar regions. The USCG currently fields […]
United States / Singapore: “US to base four warships in Singapore as China flexes military muscles” Guardian, 18 February 2015 The United States Navy says that by 2018 up to four of its littoral combat ships (LCS) will operate from Singapore on a rotational basis. The ships, which will be part of the US Seventh Fleet […]
United States: “Shippers plan four-day partial shutdown of West Coast ports” Reuters, 11 February 2015 An ongoing labour dispute that created slowdowns in freight traffic at 29 US West Coast ports has led the port operators to decide to partially shut down the ports for the second weekend in a row. Port operators have alleged that […]
Nigeria: “Deadly pirate raid on Greek ship in Nigeria” & “Oil tankers run gauntlet in Nigeria’s “pirate alley”” BBC News, 04 February 2015 & Reuters, 05 February 2015 A Greek-owned oil tanker was attacked on Monday while it was waiting to load at an oil terminal in southeastern Nigeria. The attack on Kalamos occurred alongside Qua Iboe terminal, with alleged […]
United States: “Pentagon Drops Air Sea Battle Name, Concept Lives On” & “U.S. Navy renaming new coastal combat ships ‘frigates’” USNI News, 20 January 2015 & Reuters, 15 January 2015 The Pentagon has renamed the Air Sea Battle (ASB) concept. Now called the Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver (JAM-GC), the revised plan will work to better integrate […]