Top News of the Week September 16 – 21, 2013

UK: RNAS Culdrose Welcomes Fleet Commander

The Fleet Commander visited Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose to meet service personnel from across the Base, discuss current operations and see for himself the Navy’s next generation anti-submarine maritime patrol helicopter, Merlin Mk 2. 

India to Issue Six Submarines Tender

The Indian Navy is gearing up to issue a USD 7.9 Billion tender to build six cutting-edge conventional submarines. 

Navantia Shipyard Sets First Landing Craft for Australia Afloat

Navantia set afloat, yesterday at 12:00, the first of the series of twelve fast landing crafts that the shipyard is building for the Royal Australian Navy. The design of these ships is based on the ones built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy and commissioned from 2006 to 2008. 

VIDEO: Royal Navy Pilot Tests F-35B on Board USS Wasp

As the Britons gear up to welcome into the fleet the biggest warships ever made domestically, a Royal Navy pilot completed a week of Development Testing II (DT-II) of F-35B Lightning II jets aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.  

UK Ships Meet in Horn of Africa

Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose, a Scottish ship in heart and soul, recently met up with her Welsh counterpart, HMS Dragon, in the warm waters off the Horn of Africa. 

US Navy to Join Allied and Partner Navies in Pacific Reach 2013

The U.S. Navy will join allied and partner navies from Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Singapore in the multi-national Pacific Reach 2013 exercise from Sept. 20-27, 2013.