Dzirhan Mahadzir

Big deck amphibious ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), lead ship of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, wrapped up on Wednesday a six-month patrol that took the group to the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. Tripoli pulled into White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, on Wednesday to offload elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Along with the embarked 31st MEU, the Tripoli ARG included Tripoli, amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD-18) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD-47). Tripoli, forward deployed to Japan, departed in mid-January in preparation for the annual U.S. Marine Corps – Japan Ground Self-Defense Force exercise Iron

Two decommissioned warships, cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA-5), were recently sunk off the coast of Hawaii as part of the U.S. Navy-led Rim of the Pacific 2026 exercise. Mobile Bay was sunk July 11 and Peleliu was sunk July 17 by forces from the U.S. and partner nations in sinking exercises, according to a U.S. Navy news release published Wednesday. Both ships were sunk in waters 15,000 feet deep, more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of the island of Kauai. Cruiser Mobile Bay was commissioned in February of 1987 and decommissioned

The U.K. Carrier Strike Group and the Spanish Navy Expeditionary Strike Group on Thursday concluded Neptune Strike 26-3, the latest NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity that spanned the High North and North Atlantic. Neptune Strike 26-3 involved the U.K. CSG and the Spanish Navy Expeditionary Combat Group working alongside ships, submarines and aircraft from Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force (NISRF). “Together, these multinational contributions demonstrate the Alliance’s ability to rapidly integrate forces across domains and headquarters

Chinese and Russian warships were operating south of Hokkaido, Japan, on Saturday as part of an annual joint patrol, the archipelago country announced over the weekend. The joint patrol includes People’s Liberation Army Navy cruiser CNS Anshan (103), destroyer CNS Kaifeng (124) and fleet oiler CNS Kekexilihu (903) and Russian Navy corvette RFS Rezkiy (343). On Thursday at 4 p.m. local time, Anshan was sighted sailing northeast 220 kilometers – 137 miles – northeast of Cape Inubō on the east coast of Honshu, Japan’s Joint Staff Office said. On the same day at 8 p.m. local time, Kaifeng, Kekexilihu and

U.S. and partner forces conducted more than 35 experiments to test unmanned systems and emerging technologies, pushing interoperability among nations to new limits during the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise. “These efforts help us understand how new capabilities fit into the fight and give operators real-world feedback early in the process,” U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Jeff Jablon, deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, Combined Task Force RIMPAC, told reporters Wednesday in a virtual roundtable. Demonstrations included shipboard 3D printing linked with autonomous drone delivery and executing a historic unmanned underway replenishment when a Typhoon unmanned surface vessel

Japanese destroyer JS Chokai (DDG-176) launched a Tomahawk cruise missile for the first time on Wednesday, a major milestone as the archipelago country’s military works alongside the U.S. Navy to expand its capabilities. Chokai conducted a live-fire test of a Tomahawk missile in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday with the support of the U.S. Navy, the Japan Ministry of Defense announced Thursday. The test confirmed the destroyer’s new capability and the proficiency of the crew. “This live-fire test demonstrates steady progress in the Tomahawk project, and the Ministry of Defense will continue to work towards the early establishment of stand-off

The European Union’s Naval Force Mediterranean intercepted a tanker on Sunday that is suspected of being part of Russia’s shadow fleet. Italian Navy multi-purpose combat ship ITS Thaon di Revel (P430), flagship of the EU’s Operation Irini, conducted a flag verification boarding of sanctioned tanker MT Toa Payoh (IMO: 9298492), according to the Italian Defense Ministry. Toa Payoh was flying a Cameroon flag at the time of the intercept and was bound for Istanbul. The tanker departed July 16 from the port of Cotonou, Benin. The tanker, which is under EU sanctions and part of Russia’s shadow fleet, was intercepted

Japan intends to transform its military capabilities with drones and will build up its domestic defense industry, according to the 2026 Defense of Japan white paper released on Tuesday. The Japanese government is prioritizing domestic defense production to mitigate the cost of defense equipment and avoid being overly dependent on foreign manufactures, according to the defense white paper. While Japanese defense industries produce high-end items such as ships, aircraft and missiles, Japan relies on foreign manufacturers for other aircraft, missiles and weapon and radar systems for its ships. “Japan’s defense industry is facing various challenges, with some cases of companies

The U.S. Marine Corps established a new organization last month to integrate aerial drone capabilities as the service continues to experiment with drones in field operations. The service established the Marine Corps Robotics Integration Group (MCRIG), a service-level organization responsible for integrating, standardizing and institutionalizing training for Group 1 and Group 2 small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-small unmanned aircraft systems across the Total Force, according to a July MARADMIN. The Pentagon categorises unmanned aircraft systems into five progressive groups based on attributes such as maximum gross takeoff weight, operating altitude and speed. “The establishment of MCRIG reflects the

The U.S. Marine Corps established a new organization last month to integrate aerial drone capabilities as the service continues to experiment with drones in field operations