Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class Patrick Zembol, from Romeo, Mich., welds a stanchion in the weld shop aboard the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). US Navy Photo
The post was updated to include correct terminology.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Extending the lifespans of existing ships using data-driven maintenance efforts is the best strategy for achieving a 355- ship navy, said the Naval Sea Systems Command chief engineer. Read More
United Technologies Corp.’s planned purchase of Raytheon Company, announced over the weekend, is spurring lawmakers and the White House to ask questions on how the merger would limit competition in the defense industry. Read More
Artists rendering of the first planned Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer, Jack H. Lucas. HII Photo
This post has been updated to clarify that a new program office for the large surface combatant has not yet been created. Capt. Casey Moton said the current Arleigh Burke program office has a major role in the development effort until a program office for LSC was stood up.
Arleigh Burke DDG-51 Flight III program is on track, with the first ship under construction and two more under contract. But making the transition from the earlier Arleigh Burke-class destroyers has required a significant number of design changes and challenges, driven mainly by the requirement to install the powerful new Raytheon AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar, the program manager said on Thursday. Read More
Test array for the AN/SPY-6(v) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. Raytheon Photo
The Navy’s AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) completed its final round of developmental testing having successfully tracked its 15th ballistic missile target. Read More
An artist’s conception of a Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer. Raytheon Image
ARLINGTON, Va.— Lockheed Martin’s latest Aegis combat weapon system upgrade – Baseline 10 – will not only be built for the Navy’s upcoming fleet of Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers but also provide the service with backward compatibility for older ships.
Artist’s concept of a DDG-51 Flight III with AMDR. Raytheon Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy will buy the first of its Future Surface Combatants in 2023 – a large warship that will be built to support the Arleigh Burke Flight III combat system and will pull elements from the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) and Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) destroyer designs. Read More
Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Complex in Devesulu, Romania. MDA Photo
The Japanese government has selected Lockheed Martin to outfit its defense forces with Aegis Ashore equipment worth an estimated $2.34 billion, according to media reports.
Artist’s concept of a DDG-51 Flight III with AMDR. Raytheon Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s vision of what its next large surface combatant will look like still remains unclear, but that future hull will almost certainly run the DDG-51 Flight III’s combat system, the Program Executive Officer for Ships said today. Read More
Artists rendering of the first planned Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer, Jack H. Lucas. HII Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Navy released the final request for proposal today for a multi-year contract to build the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer said the service’s chief weapons buyer on Thursday.
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.
The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories: International Acquisition, Navy Operations, Marine Corps Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Acquisition, International Operations and New Administration.
2017 began with the promise of planning for a larger fleet: at the end of 2016, the Navy announced a 355-ship requirement, and the incoming Trump Administration expressed its support for a larger military and a heftier Navy. Few concrete steps were taken this year, though, to begin a buildup – though many programs that will be pivotal to the 355-ship fleet of the future reached significant programmatic milestones in 2017.
