The following is the March 11, 2021 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Category Archives: Budget Industry
Dual Letters From Congress Signal Hill Headed for Defense Spending Showdown
NASA Photo
A debate between lawmakers over defense spending is brewing, as a group of progressive House members push for cuts to the defense budget while others argue for a boost to shipbuilding. Read More
Navy, Marines Unveil How They Will Buy and Operate Future Pilotless Aircraft and Crewless Ships
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
SOUTHCOM’s Faller: China Used Pandemic to Expand ‘Corrosive, Insidious Influence’ in Central, South America, U.S. Influence ‘Eroding’
Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, visited troops assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo in Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras on Dec. 11, 2020. US Army Photo
China has used the COVID-19 pandemic to rapidly expand its “corrosive, insidious influence” – from money laundering for transnational gangsters to using its own ships to illegally fish protected waters and benefit from illegal logging and mining – “in our neighborhood,” U.S. Southern Command’s top officer said Tuesday. Read More
Luria: Navy Should Not Decommission Ships Early in Favor of New Construction
Guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73) transits the Strait of Hormuz, Feb. 8, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
Decommissioning ships that have viable service life at a faster rate than industry can build new ones is not how the Navy should grow the fleet, the vice chairwoman of the House Armed Services Committee said Monday. Read More
Mississippi, Maine Congressional Delegation Letter to Pentagon Leadership on Shipbuilding
The following is the March 15, 2021 letter from the Maine and Mississippi congressional delegation to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Navy shipbuilding. Read More
Schultz: Coast Guard Units Remain in High Demand as Forces Stretches to Meet Needs
Adm. Karl Schultz, the commandant of the Coast Guard, speaks during the 2021 State of the Coast Guard Address in San Diego March 11, 2021. US Coast Guard Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Coast Guard remains in big demand at home and overseas as it continues to modernize the service and develop its force, the service’s top officer said in an annual address last week. Read More
USS Vella Gulf Back in Norfolk for More Repairs After Brief Underway
USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) sails alongside the supply ship USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8) during a replenishment-at-sea on April 28, 2020. US Navy Photo
A guided-missile cruiser that underwent repairs for a fuel leak is back in port again for more work following a brief weekend underway, the service told USNI News. Read More
Panel: Pentagon Needs High-Level Attention on AI, Digital Workforce to Keep Up With China
Operations Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Ezekiel, assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), identifies air contacts in the combat information center (CIC) on March 21, 2016. Monterey is underway conducting Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) with the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in preparation for a future deployment. US Navy photo.
Pentagon leaders need to set clear digital readiness performance goals this year as a first step in revamping the requirements process so the United States can maintain its military technological advantage, the vice chairman of a national panel on artificial intelligence said Friday. Read More
Navy’s Infamous INSURV Reports Set to End This Year Unless Congress Acts
Poster for USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) 2016. US Navy Photo
A long-standing independent report on the health of the U.S. Navy is set to end this year unless Congress acts, USNI News has learned.
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