Ten VFA-147 Argonaut F-35C aircraft are displayed on the flightline at Naval Air Station Lemoore (NASL). US Navy photo.
The Depart of the Navy will need $380 billion over the next three decades to maintain the size of its current aviation fleet, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
Sailors man the rails as the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) arrives at Sasebo, Japan to join the forward deployed naval forces. America is assigned to Amphibious Squadron Eleven and will serve as the flagship for Expeditionary Strike Group 7 while conducting routine operations in the Western Pacific. Navy photo.
USS America (LHA-6) arrived at its new homeport of Sasebo, Japan, on Thursday, a move that puts the big-deck amphibious assault ship designed to accommodate the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters in the Western Pacific.
HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) in the Chesapeake Bay outside Annapolis, 21 November 2019. USNI News photo
ABOARD HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY — The U.K. Royal Navy intends its largest, most advanced warship ever built to be considered interchangeable with U.S. Navy carriers, its top admiral said on Thursday. Read More
Sailors man the rails as the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) arrives at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia Nov. 18. Wasp returned to Norfolk, completing a homeport shift after spending nearly two years forward deployed to Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan and operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Navy photo
USS Wasp (LHD-1) arrived at Naval Station Norfolk on Monday, completing a homeport shift after being forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan for nearly two years.
Royal Marine sniper in front of HMS Sutherland’s helicopter on Jan. 7, 2019. UK MoD Photo
LONDON — The retirement last year of the Royal Navy’s biggest assault ship – the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean – was accompanied by dire warnings in the British press of the imminent demise of the country’s entire amphibious warfighting capability. Read More
An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), prepares to land aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), while another F-35B Lightning II flies over on Dec. 4, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
THE PENTAGON – Officials in Tokyo have requested Marines deploy F-35B fighters aboard Japan’s largest warships, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday. Read More
CAPITOL HILL – Lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives released Fiscal Year 2020 defense spending plans this week, focusing on increasing the Pentagon’s technological superiority to near-peer competitors.
Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson in 2018. U.K. Royal Navy Photo
LONDON — British prime minister Theresa May has sacked her defense secretary for leaking sensitive information relating to Chinese involvement in the country’s future telecommunications projects. Read More
An F-35C Lightning II fighter jet, attached to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, flies in formation for a photo exercise in Lemoore, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2018. US Navy Photo
F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter lead-contractor Lockheed Martin reconfigured a host of its contracts with its suppliers to lower the aircraft price tag, improve readiness and control ongoing maintenance costs.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on June 9, 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL — Just as the first Block III F/A-18E/F Super Hornets are rolling off the Boeing production line, the Navy is launching a new plan for what comes next, senior aviators told lawmakers Thursday.
