The US Navy made Pax River history July 29 after it conducted the naval air station's historic first flight of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator. At 11 a.m., the tailless, unmanned aircraft launched from Pax River and flew for a planned 35 minutes. The aircraft reached an altitude of 7,500 feet and an air speed of 180 knots during its flight over the Chesapeake Bay before successfully landing back at Pax River.

Pictures of the first prototype of the Chinese carrier based Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane JZY-01 have emerged on the Chinese internet. The new platform looks to be based on the Y-7 aircraft produced by Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation, but modified for carrier operations.

Russia will resume series production of non-nuclear Project 677 Lada-class submarines, Navy chief Vice Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Friday.

The ceremony celebrating this dual delivery was held at Marignane, the manufacturer’s headquarters, and was attended by the DGA, Dominique Maudet, Eurocopter Group’s Executive Officer for France & Vice President of Global Business and Services, and a number of representatives from France’s armed forces.

Russia will begin building new aircraft carriers after 2020, Russian navy chief Viktor Chirkov said on Thursday, in a major boost to Moscow's ability to deploy air power abroad. “At the moment, the construction bureau has received its assignment, the documents are being processed, and the money for the construction program has been allocated,” Chirkov said.

According to rumors (infosdefense.com), the Republic of Singapore Navy is about to start negotiations with France for the possible purchase of 4 Scorpene class SSKs. The deal could include transfer of technologies.

HMS Sutherland has stopped off at Gibraltar to take part in a series of gunnery exercises as she begins her six-month deployment. The Rock was the first port of call for the Devonport frigate as she makes her way towards the Indian Ocean to take over from HMS Westminster on a counter-terrorism/counter-piracy patrol.

On March 26 2012, Algeria’s ministry of defence ordered two Meko A200 frigates from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The German shipyard will supply two Meko frigates to Algeria including helicopters. The contract includes the construction of a dockyard in Algeria for the local assembly of two more frigates.

“DCNS performed very well during the first half of 2012. Our growth was in line with our target to double Group revenue between 2010 and 2020. The outstanding commitment of all DCNS teams contributed to the further increase of our performance, once again in line with our targets. These achievements improve our competitiveness on our key markets while enabling us to invest in the future. Despite the current economic environment, this is all to our advantage as we strive for success,” said Patrick Boissier, Chairman & CEO of DCNS.

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducted a live-firing of the Barak anti-missile missile in the South China Sea earlier today as part of the 18th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise which Singapore is conducting with the United States. The missile was fired by the upgraded RSN missile corvette RSS Victory against an air drone target simulating an attacking profile. The target was successfully destroyed.

A MiG-29KUB two-seat naval fighter jet made the first touch-and-go landings last week on the Indian Navy aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, Sevmash shipyard said on Monday. The ship is currently undergoing sea trials in the Barents Sea off the north coast of Russia.

Boeing on July 17 delivered the second production P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the U.S. Navy. The P-8A is one of 13 low rate initial production (LRIP) maritime patrol aircraft that Boeing is building for the Navy as part of two contracts awarded in 2011. Navy pilots flew the P-8A from Seattle to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where the first LRIP P-8A is being used for aircrew training.

Insitu Pacific, the Australia-based affiliate of Insitu Inc., announced today it has extended and expanded its existing Australian Defence Force contract with the Australian Army to include the provision of ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) services for trials with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). ScanEagle will be installed on a number of RAN vessels commencing with a first-of-class flight trial on a Frigate in September 2012.

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Navy is one year away from landing its first unmanned jet aircraft aboard a carrier after completing the most recent round of surrogate tests aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

Boeing on June 29 received a firm-fixed-price contract from U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for the production of nearly 90 Harpoon Block II missiles and associated hardware for the U.S. and four foreign militaries. The $145.1 million contract also includes exercise and test variants of the Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM ER). The first missile deliveries are scheduled for this August and contract work is expected to run through December 2013.

The United Kingdom accepted the first international Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft in a ceremony today with senior representatives of the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Thales UK are working to commercialise the UK’s fully digital radar electronic support measures (RESM) system, which has had its first use in the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer fleet.

Lockheed Martin announced July 17th 2012 that it has completed on-orbit testing of the first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite, designated MUOS-1, paving the way for the U.S. Navy’s multi-service operational test and evaluation phase in preparation for the start of operations in August 2012.

Thales has completed delivery of initial standard maritime patrol aircraft under the Meltem II programme for Turkey, with four aircraft entering service between February and June 2012.

The second Boeing P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight on July 12, taking off from Renton Field at 3:29 p.m. and landing two hours and 14 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The P-8I, a derivative of the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, is the second of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India.

Bluefin Robotics, a leading provider of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) solutions for US Navy Programs of Record announced today that the company has successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review for Knifefish, the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV).

The Singapore shipyard ST Marine and Thales Nederland have signed a contract for the delivery and installation of sensors and a combat management system that will be installed on the four Al-Ofouq class patrol vessels that are to be built for the Sultanate of Oman.

DCNS is supplying two BPC-type projection and command vessels to Russia under a contract that came into effect at the end of 2011. Three of these vessels are already in service with the French Navy. The design modifications needed to adapt the BPC concept to Russia's specific requirements are progressing as planned.

The Indian Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the Vikramaditya, has headed into the Barents Sea for second-stage sea trials, as part of its refit by Russia's Sevmash shipyard, Captain Vadim Serga of Russia's Northern Fleet information service said on Monday.

Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) sensor suite recently completed its first flight during a captive carry flight test off the coast of northwest Florida using a modified Sabreliner business jet.