MV-22 Ospreys assigned to the U.S. Presidential Helicopter Squadron land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) during the ship’s commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on July 22, 2017. US Navy Photo
President Donald Trump made a case for continued American military dominance and congressional support for his pending defense budget against the backdrop of the entrance of the world’s largest warship into service on Saturday. Read More
The following is video of the July 22, 2017 Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) commissioning ceremony. Read More
A sailor welds during the ongoing maintinance availability for carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on June 26, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated following Pentagon and Navy press briefings on the FY 2018 budget.
THE PENTAGON – The Department of the Navy’s $180-billion budget request sets out to improve overall readiness of the Navy and the Marine Corps while making only modest asks for new aircraft and ships. Read More
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) unveiled his latest attempt to modernize the defense acquisition process, focusing this time not on the way the military buys its big, expensive weapons but on helping the Defense Department “run more like a business.” Read More
President Donald J. Trump tours Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Trump visited March 2 to meet with Sailors and shipbuilders of the Navy’s first-in-class aircraft carrier. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include a comment from Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley.
President Donald Trump wants the new Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers to use older steam catapults to launch aircraft rather than the new electromagnetic launch system that the Navy has been developing for more than a decade. Read More
The following is video of President Donald Trump’s March 2, 2017 speech aboard aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Read More
The following is the Congressional Budget Office report, An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 Shipbuilding Plan. Read More
Tug boats maneuver the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) into the James River during the ship’s turn ship evolution June 11, 2016. US Navy Photo
The Navy is not yet delaying the anticipated deployment for carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) in the early 2020s after a series of delays, but workups and training could be compressed due to a later-than-expected delivery, the Navy’s chief weapons buyer said last week. Read More
The following is the Congressional Budget Office An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 Shipbuilding Plan which was released on Jan. 4, 2016. Read More
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2016.
Though much effort in 2016 was devoted to planning the future Navy – through a new Force Structure Assessment, three simultaneous Future Fleet Architecture studies, an alternative carrier study, ongoing future surface combatant planning efforts and more – the year was also full of major news in research, development and acquisition. At the end of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’ eight-year shipbuilding spree, where he put at least 86 ships on contract, the year was full of commissionings, testing, fielding and planning for ships, aircraft and weapon systems. Read More
