USS Nimitz (CVN-68) leaving San Diego Bay on March 26, 2025. Screen shot via San Diego Web Cam
The Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier departed San Diego Bay on Wednesday for what is expected to be its last deployment, USNI News has learned.
The 49-year-old USS Nimitz (CVN-68) pulled away from the carrier pier at Naval Air Station North Island after arriving in San Diego on Monday. The carrier left Wednesday morning local time with sailors manning the rails, according to ship spotters. The carrier left last week from its homeport in Bremerton, Wash., to travel to San Diego for final preparations before flying on Carrier Air Wing 17 and joining with its escorts.
In addition to CVW 17, Destroyer Squadron 9 is embarked on Nimitz overseeing guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Gridley (DDG-101), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123). Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is joining the strike group on its maiden deployment after commissioning in 2023.
Following the carrier’s deployment, Nimitz is set to shift homeports to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., in 2026 ahead of its planned decommissioning, USNI News reported earlier this month. The carrier last deployed in 2023 for seven months to the Western Pacific. Nimitz’s departure follows the reassignment of San Diego-based carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) from its current Pacific deployment to the Middle East.
The seniormost blue-water cutter, the USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615), has been in service almost continuously since she was commissioned on 20 June 1964, with the only break being regular yard periods and a 20-month Major Maintenance Availability from April 1987 to January 1989.
Constructed across a 22-month period for the sum of $4,920,804 by the Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation, the country has gotten its money’s worth out of Hull 615.
The lead ship of her class of 16 cutters, she originally carried a CODAG propulsion system and a 3″/50 gun forward as well as weight and space reserved for ASW weapons to serve as a patrol escort in the event of WWIII.
This black and white photo shows newly the commissioned Reliance (WMEC-615) with an HH-52 Sea Guard helicopter landing on its pad and davits down with one of its small boats deployed. Notice the lack of smokestack and paint scheme pre-dating the Racing Stripe or “U.S. Coast Guard” paint schemes. She has a 3″/50 forward as well as 20mm cannons for AAA work and weight and space for Mousttraps, a towed sonar, and Mk.32 ASW tubes, although they were never fitted. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
After her $16 million MMA in the late 80s, she lost her 3-incher, replaced with an early model manned MK38 25mm chain gun, while her engines were replaced with twin Alco diesels. Keep in mind that the MMA was supposed to just add 10-to-15 years to her lifespan, with a planned retirement along those lines in 2009-2015.
Post MMA
The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Reliance (WMEC 615) interdicts a low-profile vessel carrying more than $5 million in illicit narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Feb. 15, 2024. Patrolling in support of Joint Interagency Task Force-South, the Reliance crew stopped two drug trafficking ventures, detaining six suspected traffickers and preventing nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 5,400 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $57 million, from entering the United States. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Reliance)
She has earned at least four Coast Guard Unit Commendations, a Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, multiple Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, and numerous USCG “E” ribbons. She has put out oilrig fires, saved at least four ships adrift on the sea, served on the Campeche Patrols for three years, picked up thousands of Haitian and Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits, bagged over 400 tons of MJ and $50M worth of cocaine, and just generally been a floating mensch.
Reliancejust completed a 60-day patrol in the Florida Straits, Windward Passage, and Gulf of America, and managed to have a short video captured of her underway in the Gulf.
At some point in the coming years, she will be replaced by the future USCGC Reliance (WMSM-925), a Heritage-class 360-foot Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPCs), and will be the fifth vessel to bear the distinguished name going back to 1861.
Perhaps the old girl will be retained as a museum, with the new National USCG Museum in New London being a good candidate.
18:59, Tue, Mar 18, 2025 | UPDATED: 18:59, Tue, Mar 18, 2025
HMS Vanguard spent 204 days at sea, according to reports (Image: Getty)
Submariners have returned from what is believed to be the longest deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine in Royal Navy history. A Vanguard-class boat reportedly returned to its Faslane base on Monday after 204 days under the waves, according to Navy Lookout.
The vessel, thought to be HMS Vanguard, has a crew of around 130 who wouldn’t have seen sunlight or fresh air for almost seven months during the mammoth deployment. The Royal Navy itself says life in the Submarine Service, also known as the Silent Service, “isn’t for the faint-hearted”. “You’ll be pushed to your limits, but you’ll be rewarded for it too,” the Navy says on its website.
Yesterday Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and minehunter HMS Cattistock, together with an RAF aircraft, monitored a Russian convoy of two warships and two merchant vessels passing close to the UK.
On Sunday RFA Tideurge shadowed the Russian destroyer RFS Severomorsk heading west through the Channel. The destroyer later met up with a Russian convoy coming from the Mediterranean. On Monday the group passed eastward through the Dover Strait with HMS Somerset closing the Severomorsk and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft monitoring the group from above. HMS Cattistock also was involved in the operation, arriving in Harwich today.
This is probably the final ‘Syrian Express’ convoy, the group sailed from Tartus on 2nd March and is returning to Russia with evacuated military equipment. The group comprised the Udaloy-class destroyer, a Rapoucha-class landing ship, RFS Shabalin and the cargo ships MV Sparta IV and MV Siyane Severa. This is routine work for the Royal Navy and the transport convoys are unlikely to pose much of a threat.
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024 resulted in a temporary increase in the number of Russian ships in the Channel and North Sea, with each movement monitored by the RN in a combined effort with the French, Belgian and Netherlands navies. This is a reminder to the Russians that their military will not be allowed close to the UK without a strong response and will be closely watched.
RFA Tidesurge seen passing west through the English Channel monitoring the Russian destroyer on 16th March (Photo: Dover Strait Shipping – FotoFlite).The Udaloy-class destroyer, RFS Severomorsk is another Russian antique that entered service in 1987.HMS Cattistock and RFS Alexander Shabalin. Launched in 1979, HMS Cattistock is the older of the two ships.HMS Somerset up close with the Severomorsk and Wildcat airborne. Photo taken from RAF P-8A Posiedon.
On Wednesday, March 12th, the delivery ceremony for the minesweeper “Noumi” and the presentation of the Self-Defense Force Flag were held at the Tsurumi Plant of the Japan Marine United Corporation Yokohama Office. JMSDF photo.
The Chinook is a hugely versatile aircraft and is perfectly carrier-capable (Picture: MOD)
Chinooks from 27 Squadron have swapped their usual land base for sea, operating from the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Prince of Wales.
The helicopters from RAF Odiham have been taking part in Exercise Hathi Pol, an interoperability exercise between the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The aim of the helis’ involvement is to achieve Embarkation Qualifications on the carrier while highlighting the Chinook Force’s requirement to operate in a multi-domain environment.
The Chinook is an extremely capable and highly versatile support helicopter that can be operated from land bases or ships into a diverse range of environments, from the Arctic to the desert or jungle.
Chinooks can be armed, and are fitted with a suite of self-defence equipment allowing them to operate across the battlespace.
While they are mainly used for carrying troops, they are also vital for resupply and battlefield casualty evacuation missions.
The Chinook has a triple-hook external load system, an internal cargo winch, roller conveyor and large reserves of power, meaning it can lift a wide variety of complex underslung or internal loads, including vehicles.
The view from the cockpit as a Chinook approaches HMS Prince of Wales (Picture: MOD)
Each aircraft can carry up to 55 soldiers or marines, or up to approximately 10 tonnes of mixed cargo.
Secondary roles include search and rescue and supporting a wide variety of specialist tasks, including the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) commitment.
A Chinook crew comprises two pilots and two crew members, supplemented by specialists depending on the requirements of the mission.
The RAF’s current operational Chinook fleet comprises Mk 5, Mk 6 and Mk 6A aircraft, fitted with digital glass cockpits to a common standard.
The Mk 6 was acquired as a UK-specific variant of the CH-47F and also introduced a Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS).
According to the RAF, this greatly enhances handling and safety, particularly when operating in recirculating dust or snow conditions.
When the aircraft is not in the air or being prepared for flight, its main blades are tethered (Picture: MOD)
The Chinook HC.Mk 5 results from an upgrade of the extended-range Mk 3, the so-called Fat Tank aircraft, which carries double the fuel load of a standard Chinook.
The earlier Mk 4 Chinooks are being further upgraded to Mk 6A standard with the addition of DAFCS.
The 14 oldest Chinooks, some of which are more than 35 years old, will be replaced by the state-of-the-art H-47(Extended Range) from 2027 onwards in a phased retirement.
The H-47(ER) offers a modern capability that will allow the RAF to operate even closer with partner nations, including the United States.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) steams in formation beside the FS Forbin (D 620) in the Red Sea, June 7, 2024. US Navy Photo
Guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) left Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Va., Saturday for a deployment to U.S. Northern Command. The warship embarked with a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment will patrol U.S. and international waters, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News.
Gravely is heading to the waters off the Gulf Coast as part of the military’s response to President Donald Trump’s executive order and national emergency declaration to secure the U.S. border, according to a Navy press release.
“In support of U.S. Northern Command’s mission to restore territorial integrity at the U.S. southern border, Gravely reinforces the nation’s commitment to border security by enhancing maritime efforts and supporting interagency collaboration,” reads the release. “The ship’s deployment highlights the Department of Defense and Navy’s dedication to national security priorities, contributing to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime-related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration.”
The ship will operate mainly in NORTHCOM’s area of response, in the waters around Florida, Alabama and Louisiana, U.S. Fleet Forces Commander Adm. Daryl Caudle told reporters Monday. There could be other West Coast-based destroyers that operate off the coast of San Diego.
“But you can think of operations in the Gulf of America being a predominant part of [southern border enforcement] for the East Coast ship, and then on the West Coast ship, you can think of the area in and around the San Diego area, and that traffic area coming in between Mexico and the United States,” he said.
The Navy is still working on where Gravely will operate, but it will be for southern border protection, Caudle said.
The Navy consistently works with U.S. Southern Command as part of the global force management, Caudle said. The difference with Gravely is that it is part of Maritime Command Elements East and West being activated in response to the executive order.
However, the two missions have similarities, and the two combatant commands will work together, he said. Gravely will predominantly sail in NORTHCOM waters, but the warship could also go into SOUTHCOM’s area of response as needed.
“So you’re going to see a seamless transition and force sharing of naval assets across the SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM boundary to ensure that the mission is complete and we’re not thwarted by a unified command plan boundary between NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM,” he said.
Gravely is able to do broad tasking, Caudle said, so the ship will be able to adjust to the needs required by NORTHCOM. Similarly, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), which was sent to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to assist with the set up the base as an additional prison for those being deported from the U.S., could be shifted to other tasks depending on SOUTHCOM’s needs, Caudle said.
In July, Gravely returned to Norfolk after a nine-month deployment as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. East Coast destroyers following deployments are often tasked with short missions while awaiting scheduled maintenance periods. In 2020, the Navy surged destroyers to SOUTHCOM for an anti-trafficking mission. In 2021, the Navy established a group of destroyers that could surge to take on anti-submarine operations in the North Atlantic using destroyers that were awaiting repairs.
MCM UUV in the mission bay of an Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship. US Navy Photo
The Littoral Combat Ships carrying the first two operational mine countermeasure packages deployed earlier this month after more than a decade of fits, starts and failed systems, USNI News has learned.
USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) and USS Canberra (LCS-30) quietly left San Diego, Calif., on March 10th with the long-awaited mission packages that will replace the Navy’s aging mine hunting ships and aircraft, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News last week.
Assembled from a variety of separate systems, the MCM package stitches the components together, using the combinations of helicopter-borne and remote systems to find and neutralize sea mines from the surface to deep water.
Countering sea mines, the weapons responsible for more damage to U.S. Navy warships than any other weapon since World War II, have been the responsibility of some of the Navy’s oldest platforms. The promised MCM mission package is reaching the fleet 10 years later than planned. In the intervening decade, the Navy has delayed the retirement of the 1980s Avenger-class minehunters, fiberglass-coated wooden ships that have been forward-deployed to Japan and Bahrain, and the MH-53E Sea Dragon MCM helicopters that tow heavy minesweeping sleds. The helicopters have been in service since 1983.
Now, with the deployment of Santa Barbara and Canberra, the Navy is swapping out the forward-deployed Avengers in the Middle East and Japan, LCS program manager Capt. Matt Lehman and PEO USC mine warfare senior leader Sam Taylor told USNI News last week.
“We just deployed the two ships with the MCM mission package, which we’re really excited about on the mission package side,” Lehman said. “We’ve got one more to go this year.”
USS Canberra (LCS-30) approaches the mouth of the harbor at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division in California to undergo a Combat Systems Assessment Team event on Oct. 31, 2024. US Navy Photo
The first set of systems in the MCM package that will replace the Avengers center around the embarked MH-60S helicopter and the MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle — a multi-use system that tows the AQS-20C sonar developed for the package and hosts other systems.
For the Navy, which is currently procuring small USVs for lethal sea strike roles, the MCM package is the first in the service to incorporate an unmanned vessel into a program of record and include an autonomous capability.
Mine hunting is often tedious and dangerous, a reality that pushed the Navy to get the sailor out of the minefield and have technology assist in analyzing sonar data. Current Avengers are built out of wood and the crew is vigilant to minimize the magnetic signature that could set off specific types of mines. They’re crewed by sailors with the experience to tell the difference between a mine and a sunken refrigerator.
“We are changing the way we’ve done business over the years, and it’s a radical change,” Lehman told USNI News. “We’re the first USV to [reach initial operational capability] anywhere in the Navy. We are incorporating autonomous operations into this whole thing where we had not done that before.”
Initially set for an initial operational capability in 2015, the MCM package went through a development process punctuated by stops and program failures. For example, the first craft that would tow the AQS-20 sonar to hunt the bulk of mines suffered reliability problems and was scrapped. The service also canceled a plan for the MH-60S to tow the AQS-20. After years of program changes, the package has coalesced around a few core main systems, Taylor said.
From the embarked MH-60, the AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System uses lasers to detect mines closer to the surface. Once detected, the helicopter can deploy the AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System that lowers a torpedo-sized tube that carries expendable destructor vehicles to neutralize a mine.
AQS-20C Sonar. Raytheon Image
On the surface, the MCM USV carries both the AQS-20C sonar to detect mines and an Unmanned Influence Sweep System that detonates influence mines — sea mines that detonate when they detect specific sounds or magnetic signatures.
The next system due for the package is the AN/WSQ-46 Barracuda Mine Neutralization System which can detonate near-surface mines.
“Barracuda will be doing the neutralization for the near-surface region from right now, from probably USV,” Taylor said.
The modular structure of the package, contained in a few standard shipping containers, allows it to be used on LCS, from the shore or on vessels of opportunity.
“I definitely have a requirement for the vessel of opportunity, and they are constructed in a way that we can go ashore on other vessels,” Lehman said.
Ten years ago, the LCS package would have also taken on other threats like beach mines, but the Navy has scaled back the scope of the initial mine packages. The Navy has also developed a more robust expeditionary MCM capability with a reliance on unmanned underwater vehicles and traditional explosives ordnance disposal sailors.
An MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopter from the Laser Hawks of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 26, Detachment 2, equipped with the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) conducts flight operations in August 2014. US Navy photo.
To support the MCM package, the mine men for the mission package have been incorporated into the LCS’s company and train at the schoolhouses in Mayport and San Diego, Taylor and Lehman told USNI News.
Lehman and Taylor did not provide details about the deployment, but Stars and Stripes reported last year that Santa Barbara, Canberra and USS Tulsa (LCS-16) would be stationed in Bahrain. As the LCS arrive in Bahrain and Japan, the remaining handful of Avengers will be decommissioned. The MH-53Es are set to sundown over the next year, USNI News understands.
Overall, the Navy is on track to acquire 24 of the mission packages that can grow as new systems and software become available.
Lehman and Taylor said new autonomous technology and rapid acquisition will allow the program to grow quickly.
“Some people go whole careers without seeing changes like this. In [this] warfare area, we’re seeing huge changes,” Taylor said. “It’s a good thing to highlight that we’re making good, positive changes in this by, putting these unmanned systems out there.”
80 years ago, the “long hulled” Essex-class fleet carrier USS Randolph (CV-15) is seen with damage to her aft flight deck as the result of a Japanese Yokosuka P1Y Ginga “Frances” kamikaze attack crashing into her at Ulithi Atoll, 11 March 1945, as photographed from a USS Miami (CL-89) floatplane. The vessel alongside is the “heavy-hulled” Vulcan class repair ship USS Jason (ARH-1), a remarkable class of vessel that kept the fleet in action.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-344531
USS Randolph (CV 15), damage to her after flight deck resulting from a kamikaze hit on 11 March 1945. Note, the burned aircraft. 80-G-274104
If you are curious how big that hole is, it measured 56 feet fore and aft and 58 feet athwartships.
From her 66-page report on the attack and damage, which beyond the structural damage, left 26 killed, 3 missing, and 105 wounded:
USS Randolph (CV-15), a Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat fighter of VF-12 parked on the port catapult, March 1945. Note the plane’s tail markings, unique to this ship. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-K-5339
Randolph earned three battle stars for World War II service and, after reclassifying as CVA-15 (1952), was given first a SCB-27A and then a SCB-125 modernization, then reclassified again as CVS-15 (1959), she served well into the Cold War, recovering Astronauts Virgil Grissom and John Glenn in 1962.
She was inactivated in 1969 to help pay for operations in Vietnam, stricken in 1973, and subsequently scrapped just after the fall of Saigon.
