Norfolk Naval Shipyard workers prepare to install a 2400-pound pilgrim nut on a propeller of the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) on Feb. 12, 2020. George H.W. Bush is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard for its Docking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA). US Navy photo.
While capacity at the Navy’s shipyards has nearly returned to pre-COVID-19 rates, the service does not expect to have widespread testing available for workers until later this year. Read More
Chinese sailors watch a People’s LIberation Army Navy (PLAN) pull into Djibouti. Xinhua Photo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China is operating under a “fundamentally false assumption” that the United States is “a declining nation” rather than a country fully committed to preserving a rules-based world. Read More
The future Savannah (LCS-28) is floated down the Mobile River on Sept. 2, 2020, just days after it was christened at the Austal USA shipyard. Austal USA photo.
Austal USA is expanding the capacity and capability of its Alabama shipyard, doubling down on investing in its future in a way reminiscent of 2009, just before it won the block buy of Littoral Combat Ships that secured the yard a spot in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base. Read More
U.S. Marines with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 2 launch a RQ-21A Blackjack for Assault Support Tactics 2 at Canon Air Defense Complex (P111), Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 12, 2016. US Marine Corps photo.
While the Marine Corps is still charting its path forward for large drones, the service is moving smaller unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) into its ground combat units. Read More
USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) conducts routine operations near the Panamanian flagged drill ship, West Capella on May 12, 2020. US Navy Photo
Indonesia and Malaysia increasingly depend on their coast guards to assert maritime sovereignty, but these forces don’t have agreed-upon regional rules of behavior to keep clashes with China over fisheries and energy exploration from escalating into crises, three South China Sea experts said Monday. Read More
Faultline on China Lake on Oct. 17, 2019. US Geological Survey Photo
The Navy last week issued contracts worth at least $737 million for new airfield capabilities at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., where two major earthquakes last year damaged critical facilities at the premier base for research, testing and evaluation that remains not fully operational. Read More
Wilfred Merkel, simulator requirements officer for Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA), provides guidance to 2nd Lt. Liam Wells, a student naval aviator assigned to the “Rangers” of Training Squadron 28, in March 2019. US Navy photo.
The Navy is incorporating new technologies into its aviation training curriculum, from hand-held devices to full simulators, to better train airmen to fly and fight their aircraft. Read More
With one solid swing, the ship’s sponsor, former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell christened the Virginia-class submarine Montana (SSN 794) as (from left) the ship’s commanding officer Capt. Michael Delaney and Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin look on. Newport News Shipbuilding photo.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll on submarine construction at Newport News Shipbuilding, as the company president announced last month, the shipyard and the crew of the future Montana (SSN-794) have been working hard to keep the Virginia-class attack sub on track to deliver to the fleet next year. Read More
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) leads a formation of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 ships as U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets pass overhead for a photo exercise during Valiant Shield 2018 on Sept. 17. US Navy photo
Joint forces are assembling around Guam and the Mariana Islands Range Complex for high-end Pacific exercise Valiant Shield 2020, which kicks off today. Read More
Tom Cruise speaking at the Tailhook 2020 symposium.
Tom Cruise, better known as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, made a virtual appearance at a conference on Friday thanking the Navy for the assistance the service provided for the upcoming “Top Gun” sequel. Read More
