F/A-18F Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Jamie ‘Coach’ Struck makes the first carrier arrested landing using new AAG system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) on July 28, 2017. US Navy Photo
ABOARD USS GERALD R. FORD — On Aug. 1, 2017, USNI News spoke with sailors who manned Ford’s next-generation Advanced Arresting Gear and Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the first trap and catapult from the $13 billion carrier’s flight deck. Read More
F/A-18F Pilot LCDR Jamie R. Struck the makes first carrier arrested landing using AAG system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) off the Virginia coast. US Navy Photo
Six days after commissioning, the crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) launched and recovered their first aircraft from the carrier’s flight deck, according to a statement from the service. Read More
An artist’s concept of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). General Atomics Image
The Navy completed testing on a software fix for its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) that will allow the heaviest planes to take off with less stress to the airframe, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced this week. Read More
MV-22 Ospreys assigned to the U.S. Presidential Helicopter Squadron land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) during the ship’s commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on July 22, 2017. US Navy Photo
President Donald Trump made a case for continued American military dominance and congressional support for his pending defense budget against the backdrop of the entrance of the world’s largest warship into service on Saturday. Read More
The following is video of the July 22, 2017 Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) commissioning ceremony. Read More
HII rendering of the future USS Bougainville
The Navy awarded a $3-billion contract modification for the detail design and construction of LHA-8, the future amphibious assault ship Bougainville, to Huntington Ingalls Industries. Read More
Dry Dock 1 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is flooded during the undocking of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705) on May 18, 2010. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct which aircraft carrier is set for an upcoming docking availability.
WASHINGTON NAVY YARD — The Navy has faced massive backlogs of submarine and aircraft carrier maintenance work at its four public shipyards in recent years, at times pushing nearly ten percent of its workload into the next year.
But if 2017 was the year that bow wave of deferred maintenance caught the attention of lawmakers, it was also the year the Navy made great strides in addressing the problem – despite having a ten percent higher than average workload this year, the yards will end the year with about a quarter of the maintenance backlog they began the year with, the Naval Sea Systems Command commander Vice Adm. Tom Moore told USNI News. Read More
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transits the Elizabeth river from its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in August 2016. US Navy photo.
The Navy is planning a multi-billion-dollar shipyard upgrade effort to help its four yards that maintain submarines and aircraft carriers do so more efficiently and accommodate the newest ships coming into the fleet. Read More
The littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) enters dry dock for Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) at San Diego Ship Repair on May 19, 2017. US Navy photo.
The Navy could reach a 355-ship fleet 10 to 15 years faster than current plans allow if it extended the service life of today’s surface ships by five or 10 years each, effectively cutting in half the time it would take to complete the fleet buildup, the commander of Naval Sea Systems Command said today. Read More
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise (SSN 764) enters Souda Bay, Greece, during a scheduled port visit on Dec. 23, 2014. US Navy photo.
Last week’s 2018 budget request lays the groundwork to get attack submarine USS Boise (SSN-764) into an overdue maintenance availability in 2019, with a private shipyard taking over the maintenance effort to get the sub out of its two-year holding pattern. Read More
