An undated picture of a Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol craft.
Iran’s recent seizure and release of the Marshall Islands flagged M/V Maersk Tigris could be what Iran claims it is, a reaction to a decade-long dispute over shipping containers that were diverted to the UAE and never delivered to Iran. More likely however, it is a thinly veiled attempt at brinkmanship to remind the United States of the kind of trouble that Iran can stir up in the Strait of Hormuz. Read More
Virginia-class attack submarine Minnesota (SSN-783) under construction in 2012. US Navy Photo
The Navy told Congress it would pursue a 10-ship multiyear procurement contract for its Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in Fiscal Year 2018 as part of its newest long-range shipbuilding plan, which also announced a nine-ship attack submarine block buy and delays in several auxiliary ship programs. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford, CVN 78, Dry Dock Flooding. Huntington Ingalls Industries Photo
The Navy is studying alternatives to how it competes and sources its aircraft carrier force, the Navy’s top acquisition official told Congress last week. Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) leads a formation of ships from Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 during a maneuvering exercise on Sept. 23, 2014. US Navy Photo
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has not yet left Norfolk, Va., for its deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet areas of operation due to a clogged seawater intake valve. The ship should be able to depart this evening, U.S. Fleet Forces Command told USNI News. Read More
The following is the March 3, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
A unit for the future aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) rests on the assembly platen at Newport News Shipbuilding on March 5, 2014. US Navy Photo
In their first budget hearing of the year with the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Navy officials described their Fiscal Year 2016 plans that include speeding up construction of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) without changing its delivery date, hurrying to start the USS George Washington (CVN-73) Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) planning to avoid problems down the road, and abandoning hopes of procuring a third Afloat Forward Staging Base early. Read More
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) prepares to moor on June 24, 2014. US Navy Photo
A previous version of this post incorrectly outlined the Navy’s Two-Four-Six phased modernization plan as part of its Fiscal Year 2016 budget submission to Congress. The text has been corrected.
PENTAGON – The Navy has again submitted a controversial plan to layup some of its Ticonderoga-class cruisers as part of a modernization plan it says will preserve the air warfare capability of U.S. carrier strike groups into the 2040s as part of the service’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget submission to Congress. Read More
An MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft USS George Washington (CVN-73). US Navy Photo
The following post has been updated to include additional comments from Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA).
CRYSTAL CITY, VA. – The Secretary of the Navy confirmed the existence of an agreement between the Navy and Marine Corps to utilize the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor as the Navy’s replacement for the Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound as the utility aircraft for the Navy’s carrier. Read More
MV-22 Osprey, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166, launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in 2013. US Navy Photo
This post and its headline have been updated to reflect additional comments from the U.S. Navy.
The Navy will almost certainly select the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor to replace the Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound as its next carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft, according to a Jan. 5 memo signed by Department of the Navy leadership. Read More
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Naval Institute Photo
As the chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) has been both a booster and critic of the Navy’s quest to build more ships and its modernization efforts across its aviation, surface and submarine portfolios. Read More
