Norman Bialk TIG welds an aluminum frame in the Hull Outfitting Shop. Newport News Shipbuilding
More than potential supply chain gaps or funding cuts, defense industry productivity during COVID-19 is threatened most by closed schools and a lack of childcare, company executives and government officials have said in the last several weeks.
The following is the May 13, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. Read More
Fincantieri FFG(X) Design based on the FREMM. Fincantieri Image
This post has been updated to include additional information from the Navy.
The Navy awarded a $795-million contract to Fincantieri to begin building a new class of guided-missile frigates, in the first new major shipbuilding program the service has started in more than a decade, the Navy announced today. Read More
A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II, attached to Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing, the ‘Argonauts’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, completes a flight over Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Feb. 1, 2019. US Navy Photo
COVID-19 is slowing F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter production because of supply chain disruptions caused by national and international attempts to stop the spread of the sickness, prime contractor Lockheed Martin said Tuesday. Read More
Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin, addresses her remarks to President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, during the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting on March 6, 2019. White House Photo
Marillyn Hewson is stepping down as chief executive of Lockheed Martin after running the defense contractor since 2014.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 sits chocked and chained on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) on Aug. 24, 2018. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to truncate production of the legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in favor of pumping money into accelerating the development of its long-gestating next-generation carrier-based fighter program, the service revealed in its Fiscal Year 2021 budget request. Read More
Artist’s concept of a hypersonic vehicle. DARPA Photo
The Navy will focus in 2020 on developing hypersonic weapons at breakneck speed, with testing to occur throughout the year, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said Friday in a message to the fleet.
An artist’s conception of a Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer. Raytheon Image
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy is considering adding the AN/SPY-6 radar to legacy Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers along with the new Baseline 10 Aegis Combat System developed for the next-generation Flight III destroyers, service officials said on Wednesday. Read More
Littoral combat ship Little Rock (LCS 9) is underway during a high-speed run in Lake Michigan during acceptance trials. Lockheed Martin Photo
The Navy will put a laser weapon on a Littoral Combat Ship for the first time this year, amid efforts to boost the LCS’s lethality and to develop and field a family of laser systems. Read More
Artist’s concept of a Lockheed Martin Multi-Mission Surface Combatant. US Navy
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.96 billion detailed design and construction to build four warships for Saudi Arabia, according to a Friday contract announcement. Read More
