U.S., Partners Experiment with New Weapon Systems During RIMPAC 2024 SINKEX

Royal Netherlands Navy De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803) fires a Harpoon missile during a long-planned live fire sinking exercise as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024. Royal Netherlands Navy Photo

The U.S. military is experimenting with potential future weapon systems at the ongoing Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise in Hawaii, using a weapon known as QUICKSINK during the biennial drill’s sinking exercise.

U.S. forces used QUICKSINK – born out of collaboration...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/23/u-s-partners-experiment-with-new-weapon-systems-during-rimpac-2024-sinkex

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 22, 2024

USNI News graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of July 22, 2024, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. 

Ships Underway

Total Battle Force DeployedUnderway
297
(USS 237, USNS 60)
103
(USS 71, USNS 32)
85
(54 Deployed, 31 Local)

In Okinawa

An MH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/22/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-july-22-2024

Royal Australian Navy Destroyer Sinks Former U.S. Amphib with Naval Strike Missile During RIMPAC 2024

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam residents watch as the decommissioned amphibious assault ship ex USS Tarawa (LHA 1), is escorted out of Pearl Harbor during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, July 16. U.S. Navy Photo

Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42) successfully fired a Naval Strike Missile and sank former amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA-1) in the waters off Hawaii during the biennial Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise.

The Australian Department of Defense...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/22/royal-australian-navy-destroyer-sinks-former-u-s-amphib-with-naval-strike-missile-during-rimpac-2024

Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower Returns Home Following Seven-month Fight With Houthi Drones, Missiles

Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill greets his family after arriving home to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on June 14, 2024. USNI News Photo

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER – “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue blasted through the ship’s speakers as Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill made his morning announcement.

Up on the flight deck, Lee Greenwald’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” played while sailors performed their...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/20/carrier-dwight-d-eisenhower-returns-home-following-seven-month-fight-with-houthi-drones-missiles

Report to Congress on Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Program

The following is the July 12, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The aircraft carriers CVN-78, CVN-79, CVN-80, CVN-81, and CVN-82 are the first five ships in the Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $2,143.9 million (i.e., about $2.1 billion) in procurement funding for Ford-class ships,...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/18/report-to-congress-on-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-program-3

Pentagon Announces End to Gaza Pier Operation

U.S. Army LSV-1 departs the Trident Pier after delivering humanitarian aid, June 21, 2024, off the coast of Gaza. US Navy Photo

The temporary U.S. military pier built to ferry aid to civilians in Gaza will shut down and the international community will now deliver aid to Israel’s Ashdod port, officials announced Wednesday.

“Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect: to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a...

USS Boxer Back on Deployment After Repairs

USS Boxer (LHD-4) leaving San Diego on July 16, 2024. San Diego Web Cam Photo

Amphibious warship USS Boxer (LHD-4) is underway and has resumed its deployment after an emergency rudder repair, USNI News has learned.
Boxer left San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday, according to ship spotters. Boxer was there after a brief port visit to fuel and crane off an MV-22B that was damaged in a deck-handling mishap, a Navy spokesperson told USNI News.

“Following a successful operational test of its rudders, the...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/17/uss-boxer-back-on-deployment-after-repairs

Navy Issues HII $78M Contract Mod That Includes Quality of Life Facility at Newport News

USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) is moved to an outfitting berth at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., on April 8, 2024. US Navy Photo

The Navy issued HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding a $ 78 million contract modification for quality-of-life improvements that includes building a facility for sailors who are working on aircraft carriers undergoing their mid-life refueling overhaul, according to Naval Sea Systems Command.

The funds are for a “Carrier Refueling Overhaul Workcenter” that...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/15/navy-issues-hii-78m-contract-mod-that-includes-quality-of-life-facility-at-newport-news

Joint Chinese, Russian Naval Drills Start in South China Sea

Russian Corvettes underway in the Pacific. JMSDF Photo

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the Russian Navy launched a joint naval exercise on Sunday that will take place in the South China Sea. Also on Sunday, a separate joint naval patrol by the two navies also entered the South China Sea.
Joint Sea 2024 has been an ongoing event since 2012, according to a Russian Ministry of Defense release on the exercise. The MoD added that the first joint naval exercise of the Russian Navy and the...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/15/joint-chinese-russian-naval-drills-start-in-south-china-sea

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