Vice Adm. William Houston
This post has been updated to correct the year when Adm. Frank Caldwell graduated from the Naval Academy.
The head of the Navy’s submarine force has been nominated to lead the service’s and the Department of Energy’s nuclear naval reactor program, according to a Pentagon announcement this week. Read More
HMS Vigilant (S30). Royal Navy Photo
More than 30 members of the crew of the U.K. Royal Navy ballistic-missile submarine HMS Vigilant (S30) have tested positive for COVID-19 following a port visit to the U.S. Navy’s East Coast SSBN hub, a U.S. official told USNI News. Read More
A bow view of the nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593), 24 July 1961. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo
The Navy is sitting on roughly 600 pages of documents related to the USS Thresher (SSN-593) sinking that a federal judge ordered released, unable to comply because the office charged with processing their release is shuttered due to COVID-19 restrictions.
USS Thresher direct bow view. Naval Institute Archives
A retired nuclear submarine commander filed suit against the Navy to gain access to records classified for more than a half-century after the sinking of USS Thresher (SSN-593) – the Navy’s worst nuclear submarine disaster. Read More
Artist’s rendering of the Columbia-class SSBN submarine. US Navy image.
THE PENTAGON – The Navy is standing up a new Program Executive Office for Columbia, pulling the ballistic-missile submarines out of the PEO Submarines portfolio and giving it a one-star admiral who can provide constant focus and leadership as the Columbia program moves from design into construction. Read More
Gold crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN-743) arrives home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash. US Navy Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy has no wiggle room when it comes to a planned October 2020 start of construction on the first new ballistic missile submarine, so the Columbia-class program office has cranked up its interaction with and oversight of vendors big and small within the program. Read More
Decommissioned nuclear carrier Enterprise (CVN-65) sits pier side at Newport News Shipbuilding following its decommissioning in February 2017. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON — A brewing regulatory fight between the Navy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over who should oversee a possible commercial contract to dismantle the hull of the former USS Enterprise (CVN-65) could ultimately cause the project’s price tag to balloon well above the current $1 billion estimate.
HMS Vigilant in 2014. Royal Navy Photo
Neither U.S. sailors nor civilian personnel were involved in so-called “drug-fueled” parties with members of the crew of the U.K. nuclear ballistic missile submarine HMS Vigilant that resulted in the expulsion of nine sailors from the Royal Navy, U.S. officials told USNI News on Sunday. Read More
Trident II D5 Launch. US Navy Photo
LONDON — The unshakeable reliability of Britain’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent has been called into question after a Trident II D5 ballistic missile reportedly veered off course during a test last year. Read More
An artist’s conception of the U.K.’s Successor-class future planned ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). UK Ministry of Defense Photo
LONDON — The first of the Royal Navy’s future ballistic nuclear missile submarines will be known as HMS Dreadnought, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on Friday. Read More
