Launch of guided-missle destroyer Delbert Black (DDG-119). HII Photo
THE PENTAGON — Shipbuilding and aviation procurement received modest bumps in the $194.1-billion Defense Department budget request for the Navy and the Marine Corps, according to Monday’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget submission to Congress. Read More
The guided missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) leads the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD-47) and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD-23) in formation during a simulated strait transit as part of Dawn Blitz 2017. US Navy Photo
Lawmakers bought themselves two more weeks to pass a defense spending bill, after extending the continuing resolution that has funded the government since the start of the fiscal year, but the Navy is already seeing decreased readiness as a result of operating under a CR and would face severe procurement challenges if a defense budget isn’t passed by the end of the month. Read More
The following is the Nov. 8, 2017 Congressional Research Service report, FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Read More
Launch of guided-missle destroyer Delbert Black (DDG-119). HII Photo
Chances are the Navy’s leaders of a proposed 355-ship fleet have not even finished high school yet, according to Pentagon estimates. Read More
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. HII Photo
The Navy is unable to start or ramp up a range of major programs under a continuing resolution, and Pentagon officials are urging the quick passage of a full FY 2018 budget. Read More
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) transits the Elizabeth river from its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 2016. US Navy Photo
The Navy has gotten creative in dealing with budget uncertainties and continuing resolutions, developing a new ship maintenance contract structure to keep 11 ship availabilities on track at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2018 that would otherwise face major delays due to the impending CR, the head of surface ship maintenance told USNI News. Read More
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. HII Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Spending more money now to increase the Navy’s fleet size will signal to potential adversaries their victory at sea is not possible, but accomplishing this is neither cheap nor quick, a quartet of experts told a Senate panel on Tuesday. Read More
US Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB-20). US Coast Guard Photo
Two key senators have renewed a more than 30-year-old United States call to ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty in order to have a seat at the table involving the Arctic’s future. Read More
Littoral Combat Ships USS Freedom (LCS-1) and USS Coronado (LCS-4) sit at the pier at Naval Station San Diego on Feb. 17, 2016. USNI News photo.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated where a nuclear reactor the Trump administration delayed to free up funds for a second Littoral Combat Ship would be used. The reactor will be installed as part of a yet to be determined carrier overhaul, not on USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).
The Trump administration is pushing back the purchase of a reactor core for a future carrier overhaul carrier, savings on amphibious ship modernization and deferring a radar for a destroyer upgrade to pay about $500 million for second Littoral Combat Ship hull in the second budget. Read More
The littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) is underway in formation with ships from the Royal Thai Navy as part of a division tactics exercise during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand on June 3, 2017. US Navy photo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Testimony in which acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley said a single Littoral Combat Ship in 2018 was the minimum needed to preserve the two shipyards was taken to heart in crafting the Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense bill that held to one LCS, SASC staffers on Thursday. Read More
