DefenceTalkThings just got a lot tenser between the United States and Russia. Yesterday, a Russian fighter jet deliberately and repeatedly “buzzed” the USS Donald Cook, a destroyer that was transiting the Black Sea towards the Romanian port of Constanta. This was no accident; the Sukhoi-24, an all-weather strike fighter, made a dozen passes over the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/what-the-is-a-us-destroyer-doing-in-the-black-sea-59335/

DefenceTalkRussian attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Black Sea on April 12, a Pentagon spokesman said today. The USS Cook was patrolling in the western Black Sea when an unarmed Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the Navy ship, Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-aircraft-flies-near-us-navy-ship-in-black-sea-59321/

DefenceTalkThe Navy will christen the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) April 12, during a ceremony at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. The lead ship and class are named in honor of former Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., who served as the 19th CNO from 1970-1974. Secretary […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-to-christen-future-uss-zumwalt-new-class-of-destroyer-59306/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy plans to install and test a prototype electromagnetic railgun aboard a joint high speed vessel in fiscal year 2016, the service announced today. This test will mark the first time an electromagnetic railgun (EM railgun) has been demonstrated at sea, symbolizing a significant advance in naval combat. EM railgun technology uses an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-to-deploy-electromagnetic-railgun-aboard-jhsv-59271/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman will build five additional U.S. Navy MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopters, which allow ship commanders to extend their intelligence-gathering capabilities far beyond the horizon. Final assembly of the aircraft will take place at the company’s Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss. The MQ-8C is based on a larger helicopter airframe that provides […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-to-build-five-more-mq-8c-fire-scouts-for-the-us-navy-59265/

DefenceTalkNavy researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division, demonstrated proof-of-concept of novel NRL technologies developed for the recovery of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) from seawater and conversion to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon – a component of NRL’s novel gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/scale-model-wwii-craft-takes-flight-with-fuel-from-the-sea-concept-59278/

DefenceTalkNavy engineers are making final adjustments to a laser weapon prototype that will be the first of its kind to deploy aboard a ship late this summer. The prototype, an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), will be installed on USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf, fulfilling plans announced by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/all-systems-go-navys-laser-weapon-ready-for-summer-deployment-59273/

DefenceTalkChina for the first time will likely have subs equipped with long-range nuclear missiles later this year, part of an increasingly potent submarine fleet, a top US officer said Tuesday, The head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said the latest class of Chinese subs would be armed with a new ballistic missile with […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-to-have-nuclear-missiles-on-submarines-soon-us-admiral-59140/

DefenceTalkAustal christened the future USS Jackson (LCS 6) March 22 at its state-of-the-art shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Jackson is the first of 10 Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) that the U.S. Navy has awarded to Austal as prime contractor. The 127-meter aluminum trimaran is capable of being outfitted with reconfigurable payloads (mission packages) which can […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-christens-6th-lcs-ship-59132/

DefenceTalkToday, the Navy announced two separate contract awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 destroyers. The first contract award funds one FY 2014 DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyer under a previously awarded FY 2013-2017 multiyear procurement (MYP) contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). The second award is to exercise the option for one DDG 51 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/fiscal-year-2014-us-navy-destroyer-contract-awards-announced-59048/