USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) and USS Carney (DDG-64) are moored abreast in Faslane, Scotland on May 7, 2019. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of senior Navy civilian officials said the planning efforts for the future combat fleet was focused on making the fleet more flexible, interoperable and lethal. Read More
Destroyer Zumwalt (DDG-1000) transits the Atlantic Ocean during acceptance trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with a clarification comment from ASNE’s Richard White.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy’s next large surface combatant will probably look more like the futuristic Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers than fleet’s current workhorse class of Arleigh Burke destroyers, the program executive officer said. Read More
The Office of Naval Research highlights the results of some laser weapon tests, showing the damage that its in-development Solid State Laser- Technology Maturation system did to various unmanned systems, metals and more. USNI News photo.
The Navy will field versions of both its highest-power laser weapon and its low-end non-lethal laser dazzler later this year, gaining operational experience with directed energy weapons that will continue to focus engineers’ efforts building out the Navy Laser Family of Systems (NLFoS). Read More
Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Rhode Island (SSBN-740) blue crew returns to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. in 2018. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – Navy leaders told House and Senate appropriators this week that the service is ready to move out on its first new large surface ship design in a decade. Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson also said the service is moving to build in more margin for its new ballistic missile submarine program. Read More
Artist’s concept of a HELIOS laser system aboard a U.S. destroyer. Lockheed Martin Image
ARLINGTON, Va. – Lasers to counter unmanned aerial vehicles and sensors to scan the horizon, scrambling an adversary’s electronic equipment while relaying information to other systems – all packaged in a stealthy airframe – could be possible for a sixth-generation fighter, according to experts at Lockheed Martin.
USS Spruance (DDG-111) and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) line up in a formation prior to a replenishment-at-sea with the USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO-199) on March 12, 2019. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – Based on the Navy’s current vision of its future fleet, the service will be too top-heavy in the coming years, having more large combatants than it says it needs and not enough small combatants. But many attractive options exist today to add lethal capabilities to these large combatants and to extend their lives, and fewer options exist to speed the growth of the small combatant fleet, leaving the Navy pondering how best to invest in its surface force, the service’s top requirements officer told USNI News. Read More
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) steams through the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 26, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s latest 30-year shipbuilding plan outlines a path forward that includes less near-term growth in fleet size but reaches and sustains a 355-ship fleet sooner than last year’s plan. Read More
President Dwight D. Eisenhower poses with three men to whom he has just presented the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in Korean War combat action, at the White House, Washington, D.C., 12 January 1954. Those who received the medal are (from left to right): First Lieutenant Edward R. Schowalter, Jr., U.S. Army, honored for his actions near Kumhwa, Korea, on 14 October 1952; Private First Class Ernest E. West, U.S. Army, honored for his actions near Sataeri, Korea, on 12 October 1952; and Hospital Corpsman Third Class William R. Charette, U.S. Navy, honored for his actions in Korea on 17 March 1953. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.
The future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer William Charette (DDG-130) will honor a hospital corpsman awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War.
President Donald J. Trump speaks to service members and their families onboard Naval Air Station Sigonella during an all-hands call in 2017. US Navy Photo
President Donald Trump released his Fiscal Year 2020 budget priorities Monday, which includes several Navy programs he intends to fund in his $718-billion Department of Defense budget request. 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
