DefenceTalkRussian Embassy to Washington Counselor Alexander Trofimov says that US Navy Aegis ships based in Europe could secretly carry cruise missiles threatening Russia. US Navy Aegis ships based in Europe could secretly carry cruise missiles threatening Russia, Russian Embassy to Washington Counselor Alexander Trofimov told a Congressional roundtable discussion on missile defense in Europe in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-aegis-ships-could-pose-threat-to-russia-64350/

DefenceTalkThe Navy conducted the first-ever, shipboard, full-speed catapult shots using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aboard the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Naval Sea Systems Command announced May 15. EMALS is a carrier-based launch system designed to expand the operational capability of the Navy’s future carriers to include all […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-announces-successful-test-of-electromagnetic-catapult-on-cvn-78-64244/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy successfully achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Block 2 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) May 15. RAM is a highly successful, 39-year U.S. cooperative program with the German government that has yielded the U.S. taxpayer more than $800 million in cost avoidance […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-operational-capability-for-new-rolling-airframe-missile-64242/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama has chosen a submarine officer to serve as the next head of the US Navy and an infantry officer who commanded troops in Afghanistan for army chief, officials said Wednesday. Admiral John Richardson, currently the head of naval reactors, has been nominated to lead the navy, and General Mark Milley, who also […]https://www.defencetalk.com/obama-picks-new-chiefs-for-us-army-navy-64207/

DefenceTalkU.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain answered a distress call this morning issued by the Maersk Tigris container ship, after an Iranian Navy ship fired shots across its bridge and Iranian personnel boarded the commercial vessel, a Pentagon spokesman said today. Army Col. Steve Warren told members of the Pentagon press corps that at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uss-farragut-responds-to-distress-call-from-maersk-tigris-64037/

DefenceTalkThe X-47B test UAV has completed the first-ever autonomous aerial refueling. Developed by Northrop Grumman, the drone received over 4,000 pounds of fuel from a tanker jet just off the coast of Virginia. “What we accomplished today demonstrates a significant, groundbreaking step forward for the Navy,” Captain Beau Duarte, program manager for the Navy’s unmanned […]https://www.defencetalk.com/for-the-first-time-ever-us-navy-drone-refueled-mid-flight-63926/

DefenceTalkSecretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced April 17 that the next Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS St. Louis. The future USS St. Louis, designated LCS 19, will be the seventh ship to bear the name. The first St. Louis, a sloop of war, was launched in 1828. It spent the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-names-19th-littoral-combat-ship-63916/

DefenceTalkThe Navy’s Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)) hosted an industry day April 16 to help companies learn about the service’s future technology needs. PEO (U&W) leaders, representatives from NAVAIR’s small business office and Navy and Marine Corps requirements officers gave presentations throughout the day to more than 230 attendees, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-unmanned-weapons-leaders-solicit-industry-for-new-innovative-ideas-63914/

DefenceTalkA recent report from the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has confirmed the Chinese government’s own claims that “the newest class, the LUYANG III, destroyer is fitted with the new vertically-launched YJ-18 ASCM [anti-ship cruise missile].” The revelations about the the YJ-18 — a latest generation supersonic ASCM — are one of the major takeaways […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-yj-18-missiles-a-major-threat-to-us-navy-63878/

DefenceTalkSince our last publication in 2009, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)) has made significant strides in operationalizing as well as modernizing its force. Although the PLA(N)’s primary focus remains in the East Asia region, where China faces multiple disputes over the sovereignty of various maritime features and associated maritime rights, in recent years, the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/the-pla-navy-new-capabilities-and-missions-for-the-21st-century-63825/