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A Sailor stands on the flight deck during flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in the North Atlantic, Sept. 18, 2018. U.S. Navy photo.
The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) returned to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations for the second time this year after spending a month visiting its homeport of Norfolk.
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) leads a formation of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 ships as U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets pass overhead for a photo exercise during Valiant Shield 2018 on Sept. 17. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct the hull number of the former USS St. Louis. It’s LKA-116, not LKA-117.
The high-end biennial Valiant Shield exercise kicked off in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, with some of the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ most advanced platforms participating in the weeklong event. Read More
E-2C Hawkeyes, assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 124, launch and recover on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) on Sept. 13, 2018. George H.W. Bush, with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 staff, is underway in the Atlantic Ocean due to Sortie Condition Alpha, which ordered all ships to depart Hampton Roads in response to Hurricane Florence. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information from the Navy and corrected to indicate the sailor killed was the 14th Navy or Marine Corps operational death in 2018.
A sailor assigned to aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) died in a flight deck mishap at approximately 4:45 p.m. Monday afternoon. Read More
USNI News Graphic
The USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker is sponsored by CNA. These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Sept. 17, 2018, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the map reflects the location of the capital ship. Read More
The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system approaches the runway at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., after completing its inaugural cross-country flight from California on Sept. 18, 2014. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19 is temporarily standing down operations while it investigates the crash of an MQ-4C Triton in California this week. Read More
A P-8A Poseidon assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 flies over the Chesapeake Bay. US Navy Photo
The U.S. State Department notified Congress of South Korea’s planned purchase of six Boeing P-8A patrol aircraft, in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion. Read More
The following is the executive summary to Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) shipyard optimization plan, which lays out a 20-year, $21-billion plan to improve the four public shipyards. The full report will not be released to the public, and the redacted summary was released on Sept. 12. Read More
F-35B Lightning II, attached to the “Avengers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, sit on the flight deck of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) on Sept. 4, 2018, while transiting the Indian Ocean with San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) during a regularly scheduled deployment of Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). The Essex ARG and 13th MEU is the first U.S. Navy/Marine Corps team to deploy to U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations with the F-35B Lightning II. US Navy photo.
The Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are the only ship-based fixed-wing aircraft in the Middle East right now, and service leaders say the new jets are ready to handle any fight in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan they may be tasked with. Read More
An F-35B Lightning II, attached to the Wake Island Avengers of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, launches from the flight deck of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2)on Aug. 30, 2018. US Navy Photo
Marines training on the ground on the Horn of Africa will see a new set of wings pulling the classic close air support mission: The F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Read More
Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of the fifth Iridium mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on March 30, 2018. US Air Force Photo
The question around a push for new Pentagon organization to oversee the military’s interest in space is defining, “what’s the problem we’re trying to solve” a group of national security agreed on Monday. Read More
