Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has been selected by the US Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for United States partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards. Under the terms of the award, potentially … [Read more...]
8 Interesting Facts About DDG1000 – US Navy’s Ship From The Future
By Katie Lange - The US Navy’s newest technologically advanced destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, is the talk of the town throughout the Defense Department. It’s the first ship to be commissioned in the DDG 1000 class of next-generation multi-mission surface combatants tailored for land attack and shore dominance. I was lucky enough to get a tour of the ship right … [Read more...]
U.S. Ship Visit to End Anti-Nuclear Impasse With New Zealand
By Matthew Brockett (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Navy will send a ship to New Zealand later this year, ending an impasse over the country’s anti-nuclear policy dating back to the 1980s. Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted an invitation to send a ship to the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 75th anniversary in November, Prime Minister John Key said in a statement Thursday. … [Read more...]
China Confirms Sending Five Warships to World’s Largest Maritime Exercise
BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - China's navy will send five ships to join a major U.S.-hosted naval drill this summer, even as tension mounts between the world's two largest economies over the South China Sea. The Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC, billed as the world's largest international maritime exercise, is held every two years in Hawaii in June and July. Critics … [Read more...]
Rusty Ships and Unused Aircraft Carriers: the Other Side of Asia’s Militaries
By David Tweed and Kristine Servando (Bloomberg) -- As China spends billions to upgrade and reorganize the People's Liberation Army, the deficiencies in competing Asia-Pacific militaries are coming into focus. And even some of China's much heralded military advances are drawing attention for their shortcomings. Here is a snapshot of some of Asia's less illustrious military … [Read more...]