DefenceTalkThe Department of the Navy announced May 15 that the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) received Milestone C approval authorizing the start of low rate initial production. With MS C approval, the RQ-21A program, managed by the Navy and Marine Corps STUAS program office (PMA-263) here at NAS Patuxent River, enters the production […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-and-marine-corps-small-tactical-uas-enters-production-phase-47865/

DefenceTalkHMS Ark Royal, formerly Britain’s flagship aircraft carrier, sailed out of its home port on Monday to be scrapped in Turkey. Britain, which has always prided itself on its sea power, will have to do without the ability to launch jets at sea until 2020 as it tries to balance its books and two new […]https://www.defencetalk.com/former-uk-aircraft-carrier-towed-to-turkey-for-scrap-47858/

DefenceTalkUSNS Choctaw County, the Navy’s second Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV 2), satisfactorily completed Acceptance Trials, May 3 in Mobile, Ala. The JHSV is a versatile, non-combatant transport ship built by Austal USA and designed for fast intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment. The ship was presented to the Navy’s independent Board of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navys-jhsv-2-completes-acceptance-trials-47814/

DefenceTalkBy Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, Director, Undersea Warfare, OPNAV N97 There has been a good deal of conversation recently debating the size of the Navy’s ballistic missile submarine force and need for a nuclear deterrent. Some of the information used in this reporting references SSBN patrol data available to the public that is limited in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-responds-to-debate-over-the-size-of-the-ssbn-force-47810/

DefenceTalkUSS George H.W. Bush (AT SEA): The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) completed its first ever carrier-based catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia today. “Today we saw a small, but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned […]https://www.defencetalk.com/x-47b-catapulted-from-us-navy-aircraft-carrier-47791/

DefenceTalkIndia has inducted its first Boeing Poseidon-8I aircraft, which will boost long range maritime snooping and warfare capability, into Navy at its air station INS Rajali on Wednesday. Vice admiral B K Varma, chief of staff, Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy said “the aircraft is to be used for broad-area maritime and anti-submarine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-inducts-boeing-poseidon-8i-to-tighten-coastal-security-47797/

DefenceTalkA group of warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet is about to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in decades, fleet spokesman Roman Martov said on Monday. The group has entered the Red Sea and is preparing to transit the Suez Canal, and should reach the Mediterranean by mid-May, he said. The group, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-pacific-fleet-warships-to-enter-mediterranean-47788/

DefenceTalkHawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday Tokyo could mount a military response if foreign submarines enter its territorial waters while underwater, as Japan and China continue to squabble over islands. Abe’s comment came after Japan’s Defence Ministry said a submerged vessel was spotted in the contiguous waters — a 12 nautical mile strip outside […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-pm-warns-of-possible-military-response-to-subs-47783/

DefenceTalkCommander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF) will forward deploy five patrol coastal (PC) ships to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), Manama, Bahrain, May 14. USS Tempest (PC 2), USS Squall (PC 7) and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) are scheduled to arrive this summer. Two additional ships are expected to transfer next year. Commander, Patrol […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-forward-deploys-additional-patrol-boats-to-bahrain-47740/

DefenceTalkThe Indian Navy has commissioned its first squadron of MiG-29K/KUB shipborne fighters, dubbed the “Black Panthers,” a MiG spokesperson in India said on Saturday. The ceremony at an airbase in Dabolim, in the state of Goa on India’s west coast, was attended by India’s Defense Minister A K Antony, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D […]https://www.defencetalk.com/indian-navy-commissions-first-mig-29k-fighter-squadron-47738/