Category Archives: Education Legislation

HASC: Congress Let DoD Buy Too Many F-35 Fighters But Not Enough F-35 Spares, Sustainment

HASC: Congress Let DoD Buy Too Many F-35 Fighters But Not Enough F-35 Spares, Sustainment

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Cosme Zamora, from Compton, Calif., assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6), signals an F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on the ship’s flight deck on Jan. 21, 2021. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee has little appetite for buying any F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes beyond the official Biden administration request – in contrast to the past seven years, when Congress has added a whopping 97 planes beyond the president’s budget request – as a result of low readiness rates and ongoing maintenance and supply challenges. Read More

Navy Developing Land-Based Unmanned Vehicle Testing Sites as Early Design Work Continues

Navy Developing Land-Based Unmanned Vehicle Testing Sites as Early Design Work Continues

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

Electric Boat Awarded $2.4 Billion for 2nd FY 2021 Virginia-class Attack Boat

Electric Boat Awarded $2.4 Billion for 2nd FY 2021 Virginia-class Attack Boat

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

Lawmakers Question Who Will Shepherd Navy's Future Unmanned Fleet

Lawmakers Question Who Will Shepherd Navy’s Future Unmanned Fleet

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

Navy, Marines Unveil How They Will Buy and Operate Future Pilotless Aircraft and Crewless Ships

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

Panel: Pentagon Needs High-Level Attention on AI, Digital Workforce to Keep Up With China

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

HASC Chair Smith Calls For New National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Policy Review

HASC Chair Smith Calls For New National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Policy Review

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