USVs Ranger and Nomad unmanned vessels underway in the Pacific Ocean near the Channel Islands on July 3, 2021. US Navy Photo
Full of merchant traffic and security threats, the densely packed waterways of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf will be a testing ground for the Navy’s push to make unmanned systems a practical part of the fleet, service leaders said on Wednesday. Read More
Ghost Fleet Ship Nomad arriving at Point Loma, Calif., on May 29, 2021. Image via Twitter
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The emerging fleet of U.S. military Large Unmanned Surface Vessels (LUSV) are set to navigate the open seas, avoid other vessels and carry out complex directives from a land-based command center over a secure commutations network. What they can’t do yet is pump their own gas. Read More
The following is the Aug. 2, 2021 Congressional Research Service Report, Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) transits the Indian Ocean during a surface target exercise on March 12, 2021. US Navy Photo
As Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday prepares for a battle with lawmakers over a divisive plan to strike more than a dozen vessels from the fleet, the service’s top officer said Tuesday that he’s using investments to prepare for the fleet emerging in 2025. Read More
Guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), returns to Naval Station Mayport after a nine-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet on April 18, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Navy is investigating the cause of a maintenance yard fire aboard a guided-missile cruiser that sent four sailors to the hospital earlier this week. Read More
Guided-missile cruiser USS Hué City (CG-66) was inducted into the Cruiser Modernization program on Oct. 3, 2019. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s push to retire seven guided-missile cruisers stems from management and planning in its original modernization program that caused exorbitant cost growth, according to service officials. Read More
The ninth Ingalls-built U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Stone (WMSL 758), under construction in September 2019. HII photo
Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries is set to buy defense services company Alion Science and Technology for $1.65 billion, HII officials said on Tuesday. Read More
USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) transits the Gulf of Alaska as part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group on May 8, 2021. US Navy Photo
This story has been updated to correct the number of missile cells on a Ticonderoga-class cruiser and the planned number of missile cells on a Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV).
The Navy’s proposal to decommission seven guided-missile cruisers from the fleet in the next fiscal year met extensive questions from House lawmakers on Thursday. Read More
Expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) departs Naval Base Guam, passing the MSC expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) and marking the start of Pacific Partnership 2019. Navy photo
The builder of the Navy’s Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) has won a $44 million contract to develop an autonomous version of the aluminum catamaran, according to a June 7 Pentagon contract announcement. Read More
Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy is making arrangements for land-based testing of its Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel prototype and eyeing similar plans for its Large USV, as the sea service tries to get Congress on board with its plans to rapidly field unmanned vehicles in all domains to create a hybrid manned-unmanned force. Read More
