Sailors prepare an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet, attached to the ‘Wildcats’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131, for flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Red Sea, Feb. 29, 2024. US Navy Photo The Navy has designated the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as two new locations for combat awards, according to a service message released Wednesday. Under the memo released by Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Franklin Parker, sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden can now receive the Combat Action Ribbon, perso ..read more

French aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) departed its home port of Toulon for an operational deployment to the Mediterranean called Akila, which will see the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) for the first time under NATO control for two-weeks. In a press briefing on Apr. 11 to announce the deployment, Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard, Commander of the French CSG, stated that the names of French Navy warships and submarines in the group would not be announced as part of an ongoing experiment by the French Navy to obscure the identity of its warships. Mallard stated this is quite effect ..read more

USS George Washington (CVN-73) returning from sea trials on May 25, 2023. HII Photo Carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is set to depart Naval Station Norfolk, Va., this week for its new homeport in Japan, the Navy announced on Wednesday. George Washington is scheduled to leave Norfolk on Thursday to sail down the coast of the U.S., through the Caribbean Sea and enter the Pacific by rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The carrier will be part of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2024 event that will team Washington up with the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78 ..read more

The following is the April 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Iran: Background and U.S. Policy. From the report Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have been largely antagonistic since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, with tensions spiking again since 2023. Of particular concern for U.S. policymakers in 2024 are Iran’s regional activities and those of its partners in light of the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel; ongoing attacks against U.S. forces and additional targets in the region by other Iran-backed groups such as the Houthis; and the ..read more

USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) during sea trials on Oct. 21, 2021. HII Photo Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said he expects “a major announcement” in the next few weeks on a new multi-year procurement agreement to build three San Antonio-class amphibious warships and an America-class big deck amphibious warship at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi. The Navy has been negotiating “as low a price as possible” for the ships that the sea services view as essential to future expeditionary missions, Del Toro said at the Stimson Center on Tuesday. Two years ago the Navy and the Marine Corps agre ..read more

North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on April 22, 2024. KCNA Photo North Korea on Monday conducted a firing drill of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), with state media Korean Central News Agency reporting that it was a firing of “super-large multiple rocket units” simulating a nuclear counterattack and marking the first use of its Haekbangashoe nuclear weapon combined management system. The purpose of the North Korean drill, which was overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was “to demonstrate the reliability, superiority, might and diverse means of the DPRK’s nuclear f ..read more

The following is the April 19, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Taiwan Defense Issues for Congress From the report U.S. policy toward Taiwan has long prioritized the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims Taiwan as its territory and has not renounced the use of force to annex it. The United States supports Taiwan’s efforts to deter the PRC from using force to gain control of the archipelago. The U.S. government has also sought to strengthen its own ability to deter PRC military aggression in the Indo-Pacific region ..read more

Philippine and U.S. military service members conduct the “crossing of hands” handhold at the opening ceremony to commence Balikatan 24 at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, Philippines, April 22, 2024. US Marine Corps Photo American, Philippine, Australian, and French forces began Balikatan 2024 on Monday in a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila. Translating to “shoulder-to-shoulder” in Tagalog, the Balikatan series of exercises has evolved from a small navy-to-navy drill during the Cold War to the premier annual military exercise held between the U.S. and the Philippines. In recent years, amid China’s in ..read more

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 April 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 Deployed Underway 294 (USS 234, USNS 60) 93 (USS 63, USNS 30) 53 (33 Deployed, 20 Local) In Japan Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Robert Miller, from Palatka, Florida, assigned to USS America (LHA-6) guides an MV-22B ..read more

Two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces SH-60K in flight. JMSDF Photo Two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters collided Saturday night in the Philippine Sea during nighttime anti-submarine warfare training, leaving one crew member dead and seven others missing. Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said during a Sunday morning news conference that contact with the first helicopter was lost at 10:38 p.m. Saturday 150 nautical miles east of Torishima, an uninhabited volcanic island about 600 kilometers (373 miles) south of Tokyo. A signal from an emergency locator transmitter was rec ..read more