The following is the Feb. 14, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues. Read More
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Navy Researching New Class of Medium Amphibious Ship, New Logistics Ships
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Navy Confirms Global Strike Hypersonic Weapon Will First Deploy on Virginia Attack Subs
Guided-Missile Cruiser USS Chancellorsville Transits Taiwan Strait
The guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) sails ahead of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). U.S. Navy photo.
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) transited the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
Report: U.S. Sealift Lacks Personnel, Hulls, National Strategy
A UH-60 Black Hawk is raised from Military Sealift Command’s voyage-charter, general-purpose, heavy-lift vessel MV Ocean Grand at the pier in Sattahip, Thailand, Aug. 17, during an offload of equipment that will be used during exercise Hanuman Guardian 2018.
An aging and inactive government fleet dependent on a shrinking pool of merchant mariners to get underway is how a new report describes the U.S. military’s strategic sealift capability.
Navy Budgeting $1.1B for 2nd Frigate as Timeline Slows
This post has been updated to include an additional comment by Naval Sea Systems Command.
The Navy’s second frigate will cost $1.1 billion to build, an increase over previous estimates as the shipbuilding program is being slowed down amid budget constraints and cuts to overall ship procurement plans. Read More
Report on Pentagon Counter-Drone Weapons
The following is the Feb. 12, 2020 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Department of Defense Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Read More
Huntington Ingalls Industries Planning for Increased U.S. Navy Demand for UUVs
U.S. Navy Chief Aerographer’s Mate Travis Lawson and U.S. Navy Mineman 2nd Class Mathew Williams, both assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 Unmanned Systems (UMS) Platoon 141, lower an Mark 18 MOD 1 Swordfish unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) into the water as members of the Indonesian Navy’s Komando Pasukan Katak (KOPASKA) 2nd Fleet Surabaya Unit observe during a UUV familiarization drill as part of a mine countermeasures knowledge exchange for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Indonesia 2019. US Navy photo.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is restructuring its shipbuilding businesses to tap into the Navy’s growing demand for unmanned undersea vehicles. Read More
Navy, Marine Program Cuts Pay Biggest Share of New $4B Pentagon Border Barrier Funding
U.S. Northern Command border support operations at Bisbee, Arizona on Nov. 6, 2018. US Army Photo
This post has been updated with statements from shipbuilder HII, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, HASC chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and HASC ranking member Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas).
Pentagon leaders want to reroute $1.5 billion in money from two major shipbuilding programs and aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps to support construction of $3.8 billion in new physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a copy of a Fiscal Year 2020 reprogramming request obtained by USNI News. Read More
VIDEO: USS Normandy Seizes Cache Of Iranian-Made Weapons in Arabian Sea
USS Normandy (CG 60), in accordance with international law, boarded a stateless dhow in the Arabian Sea and interdicted an illicit shipment of advanced weapons and weapon components intended for the Houthis in Yemen, Feb. 9, 2020. US Navy Photo
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) seized a cache of Iranian-made anti-tank missiles and other munitions aboard a dhow in the Arabian Sea over the weekend.
GAO Testimony on Coast Guard Icebreaker Programs
The following is the Feb. 5, 2020 Government Accountability Office testimony before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security on the Coast Guard icebreaker programs. Read More
Thornberry Uneasy With Pentagon Shipbuilding Plan, Supports Fully Funding Nuclear Triad
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R=Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), center, speaks with Rear Adm. Michael E. Boyle, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK) in 2018. US Navy Photo
The House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican has “heartburn” over the proposed shipbuilding budget for Fiscal Year 2021 but is also committed to fully funding the modernization of the nuclear triad and is acutely aware of a congressionally imposed topline for defense spending next year. Read More
