Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy is making arrangements for land-based testing of its Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel prototype and eyeing similar plans for its Large USV, as the sea service tries to get Congress on board with its plans to rapidly field unmanned vehicles in all domains to create a hybrid manned-unmanned force. 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
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
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
Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo
Huntington Ingalls has tapped the first woman to lead its naval shipyard in Mississippi, the company announced on Friday. Read More
NASA Photo
The Senate voted 81 to 13 to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act in a rare New Year’s Day session. Read More
Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) gold crew returns to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, following a strategic deterrence patrol on Jan. 11, 2020. US Navy Photo
The House Armed Service Committee chairman’s advice to the incoming Biden administration is to put together a National Defense Strategy in its first six to nine months in office that will provide direction for further review of nuclear policy and budget-building. Read More
NASA Photo
The Senate passed the compromise version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act today in an 84-13 vote, following a 335-78 earlier in the week in the House of Representatives. Read More
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), left, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) transit behind the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) in the Atlantic Ocean on July 10, 2019. US Navy Photo
The Navy plans to rename U.S. Fleet Forces Command to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, harkening back to a time when the Navy was fully focused on maritime operations in the Northern Atlantic rather than the Global War on Terror, the secretary of the Navy told a Senate panel today. Read More
