Cutting the size of staffs, from the combatant commands to the services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and scaling back the number of combatant commands are ways to shape the Pentagon for future roles and missions, a panel of national security experts told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday. Read More
USS Arlington (LPD-24) under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Huntington Ingalls Industries Photo
The Navy and Marine Corps were able to design an LX(R) dock landing ship replacement with greater capability for less money by starting with the higher-end San Antonio-class LPD-17 design, stripping away unneeded features and adding back in desired ones, service officials said last week. Read More
The following is the Oct. 2, 2015 Congressional Research Service report Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues. Read More
The following is the October, 2015 Government Accountability Office report: AMPHIBIOUS COMBAT VEHICLE Some Acquisition Activities Demonstrate Best Practices; Attainment of Amphibious Capability to be Determined. Read More
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
Visiting VIPs observe the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. on Oct. 8, 2014. US Marine Corps photo.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Marine Corps’ new Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) for aviation command and control may face up to a year delay in initial operational test and evaluation if the service cannot find a way to mitigate cuts in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. Read More
Expeditionary Fast Transport Brunswick (EPF-6) launched from the Austal USA shipyard in May 2015. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s 6th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) has completed its last set of trials ahead of delivery to Military Sealift Command, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) annouced on Monday. Read More
USS Lassen (DDG-82) underway in 2013. US Navy Photo
Last week’s South China Sea freedom of navigation mission — in which a U.S. guided missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese facility on an artificial island on Subi Reef — was conducted as an “innocent passage,” a defense official with knowledge of the operation confirmed to USNI News on Monday morning. Read More
A map of China’s shifting definition of the so-called Nine-Dash Line. US State Dept. Image
The United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration handed out a decision on Thursday that the Republic of the Philippines’ case against the People’s Republic of China regarding Law of the Seas violations can be heard. This long-awaited decision marks a turning point in the complex landscape of international legality as more maritime nations seek to establish boundaries on their oceanic and littoral territories. Read More
Then-Rear Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet, speaks with service members aboard High Speed Vessel (HSV 2) Swift in 2012. US Navy Photo
The current assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and career surface warfare officer Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd has been nominated to lead U.S. Southern Command, according to a Thursday Pentagon announcement. Read More
