Skip to content

ESB Miguel Keith Drills with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force in East China Sea

The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) steams in the Gulf of Thailand, Mar. 1, 2024, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2024. Cobra Gold demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the region by building interoperability, multilateral cooperative arrangements, advancing common interests, and a commitment to our allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Evan Diaz)

DZIRHAN MAHADZIR MAY 15, 2024 3:59 PM

The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) steams in the Gulf of Thailand, Mar. 1, 2024, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2024. U.S. Navy Photo

Expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) carried out trilateral drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the East China Sea earlier this week. 

Destroyer JS Akizuki (DD-115) and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft performed the drills for Noble Raven 24 from Saturday to Monday, according to a JMSDF news release issued Tuesday. Meanwhile, on Monday North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced United Nations maritime and air surveillance operations carried out in support of sanctions on North Korea.

For Noble Raven, the U.S., Japan and New Zealand carried out tactical exercises, according to the release.

“[The] New Zealand Defense Force is important partners to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law, and we are working together through various opportunities, such as monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit maritime activities including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean vessels,” reads a JMSDF release.

Miguel Keith has been deployed to the Western Pacific since the fall of 2021 to support U.S. 7th Fleet operations, while the RNZAF P-8 Poseidon has been operating out of Kadena Air Base since mid-April, conducting surveillance activities of illicit maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean-flagged vessels that are prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions. These operations involve several countries deploying of ships and aircraft staging out of Japan, with a minimum of a single ship and a single aircraft, not necessarily from the same country, conducting the mission at specific periods. These deployments supplemental round-the-clock surveillance by the Japanese military on North Korea’s sanctions violations, according to a Japan Ministry of Defense post on social media website X.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced the surveillance missions in a press statement Monday in the state-run media outlet, referring to the “military interference in the Asia Pacific” carried out by U.S. allies under the pretext of monitoring violations of U.N. sanctions. The statement went on to state that the United Kingdom staged a naval drill with South Korea by dispatching its naval forces into the waters around the Korean peninsula, and claimed it was part of the U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea. Pyongyang also said that in the wake of the U.K.- South Korea drill, Canada is “scheming” to deploy a maritime patrol aircraft to a base in Japan to conduct surveillance over the waters around the Korean peninsula.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense had announced on May 8 that a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 MPA would carry out monitoring and surveillance out of Kadena Air Base from early May to early June. The U.K Ministry of Defense on Tuesday issued a news release stating that Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P234) conducted joint maritime patrols with South Korea in the waters around the Korean Peninsula to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolutions against North Korea. The release did not disclose when these patrols occurred, only stating that Spey carried out the patrols with a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) ship and ROKN maritime patrol aircraft.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry statement went on to state that U.S. allies like Germany, France and New Zealand were sending military ships and aircraft to the Asia Pacific region, including the waters around the Korean peninsula in continuous succession for this year, “encroaching upon the security interests of regional countries and escalating the military tension in the region.” Pyongyang cited an Australian warship that was operating in the waters of the Korean peninsula and deployed a helicopter, claiming it threatened the maritime and air security of a surrounding country and created the possibility of conflict.

North Korea statement was referring to a May 4 incident in which a People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jet dropped flares in front of a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R helicopter operating from destroyer HMAS Hobart (D39) in the Yellow Sea while the destroyer was conducting a sanctions monitoring mission. While North Korea has not directly interfered in such missions, Chinese naval ships and military aircraft have on several occasions harassed Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters and Australian ships, aircraft and helicopters conducting the missions. Other countries conducting the missions have not publicly reported any harassment by the Chinese military. China claims that the monitoring missions serve as a cover for reconnaissance missions against China.

Speaking about the incident, China Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Senior Col. Zhang Xiaogang said on May 7 that the People’s Liberation Army Navy was training in the Yellow Sea from May 3-4 and that Hobart dispatched its helicopter on three occasions to “conduct close reconnaissance and nuisance to China’s normal training activities.”

Zhang said warnings and actions forcing the other party to leave were legitimate, reasonable, professional, safe and fully complied with international law and international practice.

“We ask Australia to earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, stop spreading false narratives, strictly restrict the actions of its naval and air forces, and stop all dangerous and provocative actions to avoid damaging the overall relations between China and Australia and the two militaries,” Zhang said.

New 10p-a-shot anti-drone weapon being developed for UK’s Armed Forces

Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge has seen how the new Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon is being developed (Picture: MOD)

Alex Candlin 16th May 2024 at 9:27am

A game-changing new weapon that can disable multiple drones in one shot is currently being developed for the UK’s Armed Forces.

The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) will reportedly be able to prevent attack drones from reaching their targets while being extremely cheap to use.

“These game-changing systems will deliver decisive operational advantage to the UK Armed Forces, saving lives and defeating deadly threats,” said Defence Science and Technology Laboratory chief executive Paul Hollinshead.

Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said: “We are already a force to be reckoned with on science and technology.

“Developments like RFDEW not only make our personnel more lethal and better protected on the battlefield, but also keep the UK a world leader on innovative military kit.

“The war in Ukraine has shown us the importance of deploying uncrewed systems, but we must be able to defend against them too.

“As we ramp up our defence spending in the coming years, our Defence Drone Strategy will ensure we are at the forefront of this warfighting evolution.”

The RFDEW system is being developed for the British Armed Forces as part of the Government's new aim to put the UK’s defence industry on a war footing (Picture: MOD).
The RFDEW system is being developed for the British Armed Forces as part of the Government’s plan to put the UK defence industry on a war footing (Picture: MOD)

The versatile weapons system can track and destroy threats on the ground, in the air and at sea up to 1km away.

Once a target has been identified, the weapon beams a radio wave to disrupt or damage the electronic components of the enemy UAVs, causing them to stop in their tracks or fall out of the sky.

And unlike expensive missile systems, RFDEW only costs 10p per shot.

This new project forms part of the work to put the UK defence industry on a war footing following the Prime Minister’s announcement last month of an increase to the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.

James Cartlidge was given the opportunity to the new about the Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon system (Picture: MOD)
James Cartlidge was given the opportunity to learn about the Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon system (Picture: MOD)

US military moves temporary pier off Gaza’s coast to provide aid in the coming days By MATTHEW ADAMS STARS AND STRIPES • May 16, 2024

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said. (U.S. Central Command)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has completed installing a floating, temporary pier off Gaza’s coast, and humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said Thursday. “This morning, just a few hours ago, the pier was successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza. And in the coming days, we will commence delivery of aid,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command. At 7:40 a.m. Gaza time, CENTCOM personnel anchored the pier to the beach. No U.S. troops entered Gaza, according to a CENTCOM statement posted on X. The pier, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, is meant to provide another way to deliver needed aid into Gaza. The World Health Organization has warned some 2.3 million Gaza inhabitants face extreme hunger that could become a full-blown famine by next month as Israel continues its war against Hamas militants, who launched a surprise assault in October from the enclave. Sonali Korde, a U.S. Agency for International Development official, said the assistance is necessary because conditions on the ground have not improved, and a vital border crossing closed in the last few weeks. Israel on May 7 seized control of and closed the Rafah crossing, which aid organizations relied on. “We need to just continue to work on getting more aid in through all routes. We’re at a point in time when this is all hands on deck,” Korde said. “We can’t spare any effort.” President Joe Biden first announced the JLOTS operation on March 7 during his State of the Union speech. One day later, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, said the temporary pier would be operational within about 60 days. A defense official on Wednesday said the U.S. military had begun moving parts of the pier toward Gaza from the Port of Ashdod, one of Israel’s three main cargo ports north of Gaza. The delivery of food and other aid could begin in the first 24 to 48 hours after installation, according to an NBC News report.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said. (U.S. Central Command) The Pentagon announced last week that the U.S. military completed construction of the floating pier, but weather conditions made it unsafe to dock the pier to begin transporting more aid into the region. Cooper said the future impact of weather on the pier is situational. The weather is expected to be good for the coming week or so, with the goal being to move as much humanitarian aid as possible and make assessments about the pier along the way. “As we sit here now, we have about 500 tons of humanitarian assistance loaded on ships. That’s about 1 million pounds ready for the delivery in the coming days and … thousands in the pipeline coming behind,” Cooper said. “Historically speaking, the time between May and August, there’s very favorable weather in this part of the world.” The pier is initially expected to deliver about 90 trucks worth of aid a day and ramp up to 150 per day once it reaches full capacity, defense officials said late last month. The United Nations has said to meet the needs of Palestinians trapped in Gaza about 500 trucks worth of aid per day must enter the territory. The flow of aid is expected to start in Cyprus, where it will be inspected and loaded onto ships to travel about 200 miles to the floating platform in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Once it arrives, the aid will be transferred by U.S. military vessels to the causeway attached to the coast of Gaza. From there, trucks driven by a third party will take the aid into Gaza, not the U.S. military. The cost of the pier is about $320 million, Pentagon officials estimate. About 1,000 American troops are involved in the operation. Cooper said 14 ships from the U.S. and partner nations are involved with helping deliver aid. He added three more U.S. ships will join in the coming week. “We’ve been working closely with the Israeli Defense Force for six weeks to ensure every aspect of logistics, operations command and control communications, and force protection are in place. With the IDF, we have developed a comprehensive security plan across multiple domains,” Cooper said.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces install the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. Humanitarian aid will start to move into the war-torn territory in the coming days, defense officials said.