Sam LaGrone

About Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.

Recent Posts By the Author


Navy, Marine Program Cuts Pay Biggest Share of New $4B Pentagon Border Barrier Funding

Navy, Marine Program Cuts Pay Biggest Share of New $4B Pentagon Border Barrier Funding

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U.S. Northern Command border support operations at Bisbee, Arizona on Nov. 6, 2018. US Army Photo

This post has been updated with statements from shipbuilder HII, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, HASC chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and HASC ranking member Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas).

Pentagon leaders want to reroute $1.5 billion in money from two major shipbuilding programs and aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps to support construction of $3.8 billion in new physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a copy of a Fiscal Year 2020 reprogramming request obtained by USNI News. Read More →

Navy Cuts Super Hornet Production to Develop Next-Generation Fighter

Navy Cuts Super Hornet Production to Develop Next-Generation Fighter

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An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 sits chocked and chained on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) on Aug. 24, 2018. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to truncate production of the legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in favor of pumping money into accelerating the development of its long-gestating next-generation carrier-based fighter program, the service revealed in its Fiscal Year 2021 budget request. Read More →

Leidos Awarded $7.7B for Next Generation Navy, Marine Data Networks, NMCI Refresh

Leidos Awarded $7.7B for Next Generation Navy, Marine Data Networks, NMCI Refresh

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Pfc. Alec Rivera, a cyber-network specialist with Headquarters Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, works on a computer during a command post exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 2, 2016. US Marine Corps Photo

THE PENTAGON – In a move that aims to overhaul the Department of the Navy’s dated information technology infrastructure, the Navy awarded defense company Leidos a contract worth up to $7.7 billion to overhaul several data networks, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. Read More →

USS Fitzgerald Returns to Sea After Repairs Caused by Fatal 2017 Collision

USS Fitzgerald Returns to Sea After Repairs Caused by Fatal 2017 Collision

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USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) departs Huntington Ingalls Industries – Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing on Feb. 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to clarify where USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) was built. The destroyer was constructed at Bath Iron Works, Maine.

After more than two years of repairs, guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) left the Mississippi coast for sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, Navy officials announced on Monday. Read More →