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An early artist’s concept of the General Atomics Sea Avenger taken from a display monitor. The design shows a wing-body-tail configuration US Naval Institute Photo
POWAY, Calif. – The Navy, in its latest draft request for proposals issued last month, pitched four major defense firms to submit concepts for a future unmanned aerial refueling tanker that top officials say could be flying with the first aircraft carrier wing as early as 2019 or 2020. Read More
The following is the Aug. 8, 2017 Government Accountability Office report to Congress, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: DOD’s Proposed Follow-on Modernization Acquisition Strategy Reflects an Incremental Approach Although Plans Are Not Yet Finalized. Read More
An artist’s rendering of the planned Sikorsky VH-92A presidential helicopter. Sikorsky Image
Lockheed Martin announced the successful first flight of a test VH-92A, configured for use by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), and ultimately destined to transport the President and other dignitaries. Read More
Boeing image of the company’s MQ-25A Stingray bid. USNI News Photo
The Navy issued its latest draft request for proposals for what will be the service’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle, U.S. Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Outspoken Littoral Combat Ship and frigate critic Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said today he is “cautiously optimistic” after reading the Navy’s first official account of what the updated frigate requirements may look like, according to a statement from his office. Read More
The House Armed Services Committee passed its annual defense bill on Thursday after a 14-hour markup, sending the bill to the full House of Representatives with no major changes to its recommended procurement profile.
Though few amendments that passed directly affect Navy and Marine Corps programs, several that failed or were withdrawn sparked serious debates about how the Navy ought to address pressing issues of the day: hypoxia concerns in the Navy’s fighter fleet, how to transition from the Littoral Combat Ship, industry’s ability to upgrade to the Flight III guided-missile destroyer design and more. Read More
USS Tulsa (LCS-16) launched on March 15, 2017. Austal USA photo.
The Navy awarded Austal USA up to $584.2 million for one Littoral Combat Ship, while the service is still negotiating with Lockheed Martin for the second ship and weighs its options for the third ship, USNI News understands. Read More
Secretary of Defense James Mattis
Seapower leaders on the House Armed Services Committee pressed Pentagon leaders Monday night to explain why the president’s 2018 budget request does not put the Navy on a path to have a fleet of 355 ships. Read More
Lockheed Martin MQ-25A Concept. Lockheed Martin Image
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) will be the first two carriers to field the Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling tanker, a spokesperson told USNI News. 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 NAVY YARD – The Navy is laying the groundwork now for more complex Littoral Combat Ship operations in Asia and the Middle East, preparing to deploy two simultaneously to Singapore and one to Bahrain in 2018, the program executive officer for LCS told USNI News. Read More
