Downed US Navy Aircraft Found in Philippine Sea
to recover the aircraft and fallen Sailors, despite very challenging conditions. Eight of the 11 crew and passengers on board were recovered immediately following the crash. For the next three days, the U.S. Navy led combined search and rescue for the three missing Sailors with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), covering nearly 1,000 square nautical miles before ending the search. In December, the Navy team embarked to the crash site on a contracted salvage vessel, and searched for the aircraft's emergency relocation pinger with the U.S. Navy’s towed pinger locator (TPL-25)
USS Key West Participates in Tri-Lateral Submarine Exercise
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Key West (SSN 722) participated in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Tri-Lateral Submarine Competition (SUBCOMP) exercise in waters south of Japan, which also included participation by a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) submarine, from Sept. 12 to 19. The SUBCOMP exercise provided an excellent opportunity to further the integration and tri-lateral coordination in an Anti-submarine warfare environment for the three navies. This year's SUBCOMP involved four JMSDF submarines, a RAN Collins-class submarine HMAS Dechaineux (SSG 76)
US, Japan Conclude Mine Countermeasures Exercise
U.S. naval forces and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force concluded 2JA mine countermeasures exercise (MCMEX) after 10 days of unit-level and combined MCM-related drills on July 28. 2JA MCMEX is an annual bilateral exercise held between the U.S. and Japan to strengthen interoperability and increase proficiencies in mine countermeasure operations. This year marks the 100th time that the U.S. and the Japanese have conducted bilateral mine countermeasures together, often conducting them twice a year, since bilateral exercises of this type began in 1962. The exercise
MHI Delivers "Jinryu" Japan's 7th Soryu-Class Submarine
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) delivered the "Jinryu" submarine to the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) today in a ceremony held at the MHI Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works' No.3 pier in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The Jinryu is the seventh Soryu-class submarine supplied to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and the fourth built by MHI. MHI also built the first Soryu-class submarine, and has produced a total of 26 submarines at the MHI Kobe Shipyard over the last 70 years. The delivery ceremony was attended by a number of MOD officials including State Minister of
February 2025
