The Navy wants to emphasize the development of enablers for unmanned systems – the common interfaces and control stations, the networks, the secure data formats, the autonomy behaviors – as it pursues a hybrid manned/unmanned fleet for the future. Read More
Boatswain’s Mate Petty Officer First Class Jarret Hal conducts a safety brief before a underway replenishment, on the Alreigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-72) on Jan. 24, 2021. US Navy Photo
Navy leaders in all communities are taking a hard look at how they can use data to prevent training accidents and operational mishaps, even as 2020 proved to be a good year for safety amid a high operational tempo, the service’s vice chief told lawmakers this week. Read More
USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) cruises under the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay, Dec. 7, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy will get a first glimpse of what future operations could look like, when a Zumwalt-class destroyer manages long-range surveillance and fires by manned and unmanned platforms in an upcoming exercise in the Pacific. Read More
Sailors assigned to guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) prepare to depart Manama, Bahrain, during a sea and anchor detail, March 21, 2021. Philippine Sea is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. US Navy photo.
Cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) has returned to sea fully mission capable after spending nearly a month in port in Bahrain to deal with COVID-19 cases within the crew. Read More
Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
The Navy today awarded a construction contract for a second Virginia-class attack submarine this fiscal year, which the Trump administration had cut from its FY 2021 budget request and the House Armed Services Committee fought to have included in the final spending and defense bills. Read More
Maintainers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) analyze diagnostics from the MQ-8C Fire Scout on the flight deck of the Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) on June 21, 2018. US Navy photo.
When the Navy moved from a conventionally powered fleet to a nuclear one, Adm. Hyman Rickover oversaw the transitions for decades, remaining in uniform until the age of 82 as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” to ensure the sea service adopted the new technology in a precise and controlled way. Read More
Flag of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Two members of the House Armed Services Committee today called for the Biden administration to hurry and nominate someone to serve as the next Navy secretary, as the sea service faces tough decisions about how to modernize the force and potentially a budget showdown with the other services competing for funding. Read More
Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Samantha Stluka, left, and Aviation Electrician 2nd Class Wyatt Cutchen, both assigned to the “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, perform maintenance on a MQ-8B unmanned helicopter on the flight deck of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), May 14, 2020. US Navy photo.
The sea services see themselves moving toward a future where they are just as likely to perform a mission with an unmanned platform as a manned one, based on the specifics of the mission and what assets are available. A third of the Navy’s fleet and half of Marine Corps aviation could be unmanned under this hybrid vision the two services are pursuing, which they argue in a new Department of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework is necessary to stay ahead of adversary capabilities without breaking the bank. Read More
The flight deck crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) launches and recovers F/A-18E-F Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 122 as pilots in the West Coast fleet replacement squadron conduct carrier qualifications on March 9, 2021. USNI News photo.
ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD, IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN – When new commanding officer Capt. Paul Lanzilotta wakes up each morning on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), his long and diverse to-do list highlights the balance the aircraft carrier is trying to strike as it wraps up its new-ship testing and prepares for shock trials this summer, while also carrying out other duties as the only available aircraft carrier on the East Coast. Read More
Hospitalman Cheyenne Bostick, center, assigned to amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22), prepares to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to Sailors assigned to guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) in Manama, Bahrain, March 2, 2021. US Navy photo.
An amphibious warship is back to sea in the Middle East after spending two weeks in Bahrain trying to contain the spread of COVID-19 among its crew. Read More
