USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its strike group in 2013. US Navy Photo
Navy leadership hopes to have a surge force of three Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and three Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG) by 2020 to respond to major contingencies, compared to today’s one CSG and one ARG – but those plans depend on Congress fully funding the Navy’s implementation of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP), Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. Read More
An electromagnetic railgun prototypes on display aboard the joint high speed vessel USS Millinocket (JHSV 3) in port at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Engineering studies to include an electromagnetic railgun on a Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000) have started at Naval Sea Systems Command, NAVSEA’s head said Thursday. Read More
Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Zumwalt (DDG-1000) pierside at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine on April 12, 2013. US Naval Institute Photo
The Navy has started the massive gas turbines in its latest class of guided missile destroyer ahead of the ship’s commissioning next year, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) announced on Thursday. Read More
he MK46 Mod 1 weapon system fires a round during a live-fire qualification exercise aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18). US NAvy Photo
The Navy has replaced two 57mm guns planned on the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer designed to fight off swarm boat attacks with a smaller pair of 30mm guns, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told USNI News on Monday. Read More
USS Nitze (DDG 94) fires its MK-45 5-inch/54-caliber lightweight gun on May 12, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post was updated from an earlier version to include a statement from Raytheon.
The Navy’s surface warfare community is taking a second look at a guided shell that could be fired from existing ship board guns as part of the service’s recent focus on expanding the combat power of the Navy’s surface ships, USNI News has learned. Read More
The previously unexplained cost growth of the three ships of the Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class of ships found in the Navy’s shipbuilding account over the last five years is a result of funding practices implemented after the program’s 2010 restructure — at least in part. Read More
USS Spruance (DDG-111) is pierside at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif., Jan, 2012. US Navy Photo
The following is the May 21, 2014 Congressional Research Service report, Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs. Read More
Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Zumwalt (DDG-1000) pierside at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine on April 12, 2013. US Naval Institute Photo
The cost of the three ships in the Navy’s Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) has risen more than $2 billion over the last five years — $450 million in the last year alone, according to Navy budget data aggregated by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) transits the Black Sea on April 21, 2014. US Navy Photo
The following is the April 8, 2014 Congressional Research Service report, Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs. Read More
USNI News contributor Cmdr. Daniel Dolan, interviewed the commander of Zumwalt (DDG-1000), Capt. James Kirk, on 31 March. The ship—first in a class of three next-generation destroyers—is among the most expensive surface ships the U.S. Navy is building. The ship features a slew of new systems and the smallest crew yet for a ship her size. Dolan asked Kirk about the ship’s handling, the hull, some of the history of her namesake, and brought questions from members of the Naval War College staff ahead of the ship’s christening on Saturday at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Read More
