Tag Archives: Future Naval Force Study

CNO, Commandant: Services Have A Good Idea of How They'll Fight, If Congress Helps Them With the Right Spending Plans

CNO, Commandant: Services Have A Good Idea of How They’ll Fight, If Congress Helps Them With the Right Spending Plans

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Tyrell Lewis, a student in the Detachment Hawaii Enhanced Squad Leader Course, aims a dummy rocket launcher at the rocket station, one of twelve stations in the initial performance assessment portion of the course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, April 8, 2021. The course is an experimental proof of concept, with the intent of modernizing training and providing squad leaders with new capabilities. US Marine Corps photo.

The chief of naval operations and commandant of the Marine Corps say they are increasingly clear on how they’d want to fight a peer adversary, what attributes would make their forces successful and what platforms they need to equip that force. Now, they just need help from Congress turning that into a budget everyone can agree upon, they say. Read More

CNO: Pentagon Force Posture Review Will Inform Future Carrier Missions, Arctic Presence

CNO: Pentagon Force Posture Review Will Inform Future Carrier Missions, Arctic Presence

USS Toledo (SSN-769) surfaces at Ice Camp Seadragon on the Arctic Ocean for Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2020. US Navy Photo

The chief of naval operations said an ongoing Global Force Posture Review led by the defense secretary could bring about changes to how aircraft carriers and other in-demand naval assets should be deployed around the world in the future, as one deployed carrier strike group that trained for a range of new missions is now in the Middle East conducting the same old missions of land strikes and deterrence against aggression from Iran. Read More

Light Carrier Studies Already Underway As Navy Considers Role for CVLs in Future Fleet

Light Carrier Studies Already Underway As Navy Considers Role for CVLs in Future Fleet

An MH-60S Sea Hawk, assigned to the “Eightballers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, flies next to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) while they transit the Pacific Ocean Feb. 15, 2020. Operating as an Expeditionary Strike Force, the Navy-Marine Corps team integrates carrier strike group combat power with the flexible capability of an expeditionary strike group to provide the fleet commander with a capable, credible combat force that can be deployed anywhere in the world. US Navy photo.

The Navy’s engineering community has already started conducting light carrier design and engineering studies, even as the Navy and the joint force still consider whether they’d even want to invest in a CVL to supplement supercarriers to bring more distributed capability to the fleet for less cost. Read More

Top Stories 2020: U.S. Navy Acquisition

Top Stories 2020: U.S. Navy Acquisition

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

2020 may be among the most consequential years for Navy acquisition in recent memory, with the service making big moves in support of its Distributed Maritime Operations operating concept. Read More

CNO: Navy Will Have to Convince Biden Administration to Invest in Larger, Lethal Fleet

CNO: Navy Will Have to Convince Biden Administration to Invest in Larger, Lethal Fleet

USS Sterett (DDG-104) steams through the night in the Gulf of Oman on Sept. 17, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to include additional information from Adm. Gilday’s remarks.

After it took the better part of nine months to convince Mark Esper’s Pentagon that the naval force needed greater investment to be ready to deter or defeat China and Russia – even if that investment came at the expense of the Army or the Air Force – the Navy and Marine Corps will have to start anew with the incoming Biden administration, the chief of naval operations said today. Read More

Navy, Marines Will Need Recapitalized Sealift, Logistics Capabilities to Succeed in Pacific Operations

Navy, Marines Will Need Recapitalized Sealift, Logistics Capabilities to Succeed in Pacific Operations

USS America (LHA-6) conducts a replenishment at sea with the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14) on Aug. 12, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy and Marine Corps need to grow their capacity to move people and supplies to and around a contested sea space – using both manned and unmanned ships and aircraft – and the service leaders asked lawmakers today for help in creating a supply chain that can stand up to a peer competitor. Read More

After 9 Months of Study, Pentagon's Fleet Architecture Similar to Original Navy Plan

After 9 Months of Study, Pentagon’s Fleet Architecture Similar to Original Navy Plan

Defense Secretary Mark Esper tours the avenger class minesweeper USS Devastator, docked at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Oct. 28, 2020. DoD Photo

At the beginning of the year, the Navy and Marine Corps sent a new fleet plan to Pentagon leaders that called for relying on smaller ships and unmanned vessels to meet future missions and defeat future adversaries. The Pentagon rejected the plan.

Nine-months later, Pentagon leaders reached the same conclusion: the Navy needed to be more distributed and weighted towards small combatants and unmanned craft.

What did that additional effort really get the sea services? Not much, according to some officials involved in both processes.

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Navy, Marines Eyeing Further Integration In Unit-Level Tactics, Budgetary Decisions

Navy, Marines Eyeing Further Integration In Unit-Level Tactics, Budgetary Decisions

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Jason Thompson watches an amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) depart the well deck of amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD-22) in 2016. US Navy Photo

The Navy and Marine Corps are further putting their money and their effort towards greater naval integration, as the services work together on tactics for blue-green operations and a spending plan that supports those new tactics. Read More

Hudson Recommends 581 Ships, New Class of Corvette as Part of Input to Pentagon Fleet Plan

Hudson Recommends 581 Ships, New Class of Corvette as Part of Input to Pentagon Fleet Plan

USS Sterett (DDG-104) steams through the night in the Gulf of Oman on Sept. 17, 2020. US Navy Photo

The first of three inputs to the Pentagon’s Future Naval Force Study was released this week, the Hudson Institute is calling for a future U.S. Navy fleet of 581 battle force ships through the addition of 80 corvettes, 99 unmanned surface vessels, 40 unmanned submarines and 27 new small amphibious ships Read More