The Italian navy commissioned its newest logistics support ship (LSS), the ITS Vulcano (A5335) at a ceremony at the Fincantieri Naval Integrated shipyard in Muggiano, Italy. The 633-foot (193 meter), 27,200-ton LSS can replenish a surface ship task group and…
Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro Returns Home from Final patrol
KODIAK, Alaska — The crew aboard Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro, the service’s last operational 378-foot, high endurance cutter, returned home to Kodiak, Alaska, on March 13, following a 49-day deployment in the Bering Sea, the Coast Guard 17th District said…
Adding to the Fleet: Navy Evolves to Counter Changing Threats
Last December, then-Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced plans to bring back the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in a name change that was a deliberate message to the world — in particular the near-peer competitor nations of Russia and China as…
Cutter Valiant Returns Home after 26-Day Law-Enforcement Patrol
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— The USCGC Valiant (WMEC-621) crew returned home to Naval Station Mayport March 16 after completing a 26-day patrol conducting law enforcement operations in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant…
With Scant ISR Resources, SOUTHCOM Turns to ISR, Machine Learning
ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Southern Command is turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning to compensate for underfunded intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to monitor international criminals and great power competitors in Latin America. SOUTHCOM accounts for less than 1%…
Navy, Marine Corps Release Unmanned Campaign Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps released on March 16 the Unmanned Campaign framework, which presents their strategy for making unmanned systems a trusted and integral part of warfighting. Through a capabilities-based approach, the services seek to…
Ex-Navy Helos Providing Folding Rotors, Tails for Cutter-Deploying H-60 Helos
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard is shifting the focus of some of its MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter fleet to use on board its large cutters and is using components from some ex-U.S. Navy H-60 Seahawk helicopters to make that…
State Dept. Approves $1.8B Sale of P-8A Patrol Aircraft to Germany
WASHINGTON — The State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale to Germany of P-8A aircraft and associated support and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $1.77 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a March 12 release. Germany…
Coast Guard, Navy Help Rescue Cold-Stunned Turtles, Return Them to Warmer Waters
Texas recently experienced record-breaking cold temperatures, causing the largest cold-stunning event for sea turtles in the state’s history. As the water temperate dropped to the mid-30s Fahrenheit, thousands of turtles were found stranded on beaches or floating in the water….
Double-Pumped Carrier Deployments Are Not Surges, Lawmaker Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s recent practice of sending nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) on back-to-back deployments — termed “double-pumped” — is not an example of a surge capability, a member of Congress said. “Surge is additional capability to respond in…
