Marines Update Force Design 2030 After a Year of Experimentation in the Field

Marines Update Force Design 2030 After a Year of Experimentation in the Field

A U.S. Marine with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, crawls onto the beach during reconnaissance scout swimmer training part of Exercise Bougainville I at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, Feb. 8, 2021.US Marine Corps Photo

The Marine Corps is a year into reshaping its force to become optimized for modern operations – in combat and in everyday competition – by 2030, and the service has already taken some major steps such as getting rid of all its tanks and refining its vision for how to buy the next reconnaissance vehicle Read More

American Sea Power Panel: U.S. Should Have Public Discussion on Naval Strategy, Not Fleet Size

American Sea Power Panel: U.S. Should Have Public Discussion on Naval Strategy, Not Fleet Size

Sailors prepare for flight operations on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on April 6, 2021. US Navy Photo

The debate over the naval future of the United States should center on strategy rather than how many of what kinds of ships will make up the fleet, four authors who published pieces on the future of the Navy said on Thursday.
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UPDATED: U.S., Australia Join in Search for Missing Indonesian Attack Sub

UPDATED: U.S., Australia Join in Search for Missing Indonesian Attack Sub

A P-8A Poseidon, assigned to the ‘Fighting Tigers’ of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, lands at Misawa Air Base during scheduled flight operations on Jan. 15, 2021. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated with a Friday statement from the Pentagon.

KUALA LUMPUR — Indonesia is focusing its search efforts for missing submarine KRI Nanggala (402) in an area 25 miles north of Celukan Bawang Beach in Bali, while both Australia and the United States have joined the search effort with the commitment of two ships and an aircraft, respectively. Read More

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

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Could Extend Stay in Middle East to Cover Afghanistan Withdrawal

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Could Extend Stay in Middle East to Cover Afghanistan Withdrawal

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Setogiri (DD 156), back, operates alongside aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Arabian Sea on April 19, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group current stop in the Middle East could be extended to help cover the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. Read More

Navy to Experiment with Information Warfare Commanders Operating from Maritime Operations Centers

Navy to Experiment with Information Warfare Commanders Operating from Maritime Operations Centers

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Alexander Hess, from Ft. Wayne, Ind., stands watch in the combat information center aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65). US Navy Photo

After seeing how effective it is for an information warfare commander to operate within a carrier strike group, the Navy will now experiment with placing an IWC in its Maritime Operations Centers. Read More

3 Submarine Rescue Ships Hunting for Missing Indonesian Submarine

3 Submarine Rescue Ships Hunting for Missing Indonesian Submarine

MV Swift Rescue departing Changi Naval Base for the search operation. Singapore Defense Ministry Photo

KULA LUMPUR — Search efforts on Thursday have yet to turn up any sign of the missing Indonesian attack submarine KRI Nanggala (402) and 53 personnel. Meanwhile, submarine rescue ships from three different countries are en route to the scene near Bali. Read More