X-47B Salty Dog 501 flies over USS Theodore Roosevelt on Aug. 17, 2014. US Naval Institute Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — To keep U.S. carriers relevant into the 21st century, the Navy needs to restart development of a lethal unmanned aircraft to fly from carrier decks, according to a new study on the future of the carrier air wing. Read More
An artist’s rendering of a Raytheon AN/ALQ-249 mid-range jammer on an EA-18G Growler. Raytheon Image
The Government Accountability Office has denied a protest by Raytheon over a contract award for the Navy’s Next Generation Jammer, according to a posting on the GAO website. Read More
An artist’s rendering of a Raytheon AN/ALQ-249 mid-range jammer on an EA-18G Growler. Raytheon Image
The next phase of the Navy’s effort to replace its decades-old ALQ-99 jamming systems on its fleet of electronic warfare aircraft is in a holding pattern amid a protest from a company cut from the competition, USNI News has learned. Read More
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) Machinist Rizal Encarnacion runs a stabilator spindle for an Air Force F-15 through a Landis Universal Grinder at FRCSE March 4, 2016. US Navy photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Naval Air Systems Command will develop a facilities modernization plan to guide upcoming investments, much like its counterparts at Naval Sea Systems Command did with a shipyard optimization plan submitted to Congress in February. Read More
Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class Joseph Ihrig, left, and Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Miko Brandon, right, both assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 4, perform a fan blade loop inspection on a P-8A Poseidon aircraft onboard Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Ault Field on Dec. 6, 2017. VP-4 is currently conducting its Fleet Readiness Training Plan in preparation for their upcoming deployment. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s fleet of P-8A Poseidon aircraft are not in any immediate risk of facing the same engine failure that caused the April 17 emergency landing of a Boeing 737 – which the P-8 design is derived from – a Navy spokeswoman told USNI News. Read More
An MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopter sits on the deck of Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS-8). US Navy Photo
The Navy’s MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles will receive a new radar and datalink to set the UAV up as a forward spotter for the Navy’s surface fleet.
USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) launches a Standard Missile (SM) 2 during a live-fire test of the ship’s Aegis weapons system on Feb. 8, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Navy will deploy a “virtual twin” of the Aegis Combat System in February that, if the pilot program proves successful, could one day help the service test new Aegis upgrades or add-ons on a cruiser or destroyer at-sea without interfering with that ship’s actual combat system and ability to operate. Read More
CGTrader Image
SPRINGFIELD, Va. – The commander of Naval Air Systems Command called for a new model-based systems engineering environment that would usher aircraft and weapon development through a paperless process of generating specifications, digital drawings, and testing the design in a virtual environment. Read More
CH-53K. Sikorsky photo.
This post has been updated to include a statement by Sikorsky and the NAVAIR program office.
Naval Air Systems Command awarded Sikorsky $304 million for the first two CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters for the Marine Corps. Read More
A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft assigned to Carrier Training Wing (CTW) 1 approaches the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on March 20, 2017. US NAvy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy and Marine Corps are still struggling with oxygen system problems that have plagued the Navy’s carrier training aircraft and have clogged both services’ pipeline of new pilots, the commander of Naval Air Systems Command said during a Wednesday congressional hearing. Read More
