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.

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.
Cmdr. Pavao Huldisch, head of the Air department aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), addresses sailors on the flight deck during a department quarters on Nov. 23, 2018. US Navy Photo
This post was updated with additional re-enlistment information.
The Navy needs to retain for the foreseeable future close to 80 percent of its first-term sailors reaching the end of their initial enlistment contracts if it hopes to meet staffing requirements of its growing fleet, the service’s personnel chief told lawmakers on Thursday.
An artist’s rendering of VT Halter Marine’s winning bid for the U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter. VT Halter Marine image used with permission
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Coast Guard’s next icebreaker is based on a German research vessel, features a unique Finnish propulsion design and is driven by American diesels, shipbuilder VT Halter Marine told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
An artist’s rendering of VT Halter Marine’s winning bid for the U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter. VT Halter Marine image used with permission
This post has been updated to include a rendering of the VT Halter Marine bid and the names of the two other shipyards who bid for the Polar Security Cutter contract.
VT Halter Marine Inc. has been awarded a $745M detailed design and construction contract for the Coast Guard’s next-generation heavy icebreaker, according to a Tuesday Pentagon contract announcement. Read More
LCAC 100, Textron’s first-in-class Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), conducts its first on-water test outside of the company’s facility in Louisiana on April 10, 2018. Textron photo.
Before the Navy requests more money for Textron’s Ship-to-Shore Connector, company executives say they need to firm up contracts for the funds already earmarked for the program.
US Air Force photo illustration
CAPITOL HILL – Securing the vast data-sharing network used by the Department of the Navy and its industrial base will require a significant investment of time and expertise from the department, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer told lawmakers on Wednesday.
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on April 4, 2019. US Coast Guard Photo
Unlike the other military services, the Coast Guard has not received budgetary relief to eliminate its maintenance backlog and keep cutters on patrol and helicopters flying or to address aging infrastructure problems pier-side, the commandant of the Coast Guard told a House panel on Tuesday. Read More
Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 1, 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – A Mississippi senator is pushing to get the Navy authority to begin advance procurement and early construction activities on two amphibious ships, despite the Navy’s budget request that show those two ships being purchased in full later than the shipbuilder might like. Read More
The crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal moor to a pier in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, July 24, 2018, prior to its commissioning ceremony. Coast Guard photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Lawmakers sounded skeptical that the Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request is enough to cover the cost of current operations and invest in future technology and equipment needs.
The following are the Navy Unfunded Priorities Lists for Fiscal Year 2020. Read More