Brought to You by the Members of the U.S. Naval Institute
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 is flooded during the undocking of USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705) in May 2010. US Navy photo.
SAN DIEGO – Public shipyards are on track to reach 33,500 full-time equivalent employees by February, thanks to a hiring spree meant to get the yards back on track after both sequestration and a high attrition rate eroded workforce capacity. Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) leads a formation of ships from Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 during a maneuvering exercise on Sept. 23, 2014. US Navy Photo
SAN DIEGO – The Navy is nine months into its new deployment model – the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP) – designed to keep carrier strike groups from unexpectedly long deployments and allow time for needed ship upkeep.
The plan promises to make life more predictable for sailors and maintainers, but service officials are already running into roadblocks that, if not addressed by Navy leadership and Congress, could exacerbate gaps in overseas carrier presence and further burden the maintenance community. Read More
Water is drained from a dry dock at U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF JRMC) Yokosuka preparing the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) for a scheduled maintenance availability in July 2015. US Navy photo.
SAN DIEGO – The Navy’s maintenance and operational communities have completed the first iterations of a surface ship master plan for maintenance and modernization work, in the hopes of balancing out peaks and valleys in shipyard workload without impacting operational needs. Read More
An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) during a Missile Defense Agency test in 2013. MDA Photo
A recent change in how the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) counts ballistic missile defense (BMD) ships lowers projected future totals from what the agency estimated in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request to Congress, USNI News has learned. Read More
Reserve component Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operational Support Unit 7 use a Man Transportable Robot System “Talon” Mark 2 to approach a suspected bomb maker’s building during a mobility exercise at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in March 2012. AEODRS Increment 2 is meant to replace this system. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information from the Navy regarding the fielding timelines of all three AEODRS variants.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is moving forward with its Advance Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robotic System (AEODRS) tactical operations variant, the middle of three sizes, after approving the system to go into engineering and manufacturing development phase earlier this month. Read More
The resulting fire on USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) following the explosion of a SM-2 Block IIIA guided missile. US Navy Photo obtained by USNI News
The guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) suffered only cosmetic damage following the unexpected explosion of a SM-2 missile shortly after launch on July 18, Navy officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
A Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) launches from the aft Vertical Launching System (VLS) aboard destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG-77) in 2006. US Navy Photo
This post was updated to include the current location of USS The Sullivans (DDG-68).
The Navy has restricted the use of an unspecified number of SM-2 guided missiles following a launch failure on July 18 that damaged destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), Naval Sea Systems Command officials told USNI News. Read More
The resulting fire on USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) following the explosion of a Raytheon SM-2 Block IIIA guided missile. US Navy Photo obtained by USNI News
This post has been updated with additional information from NAVSEA.
A Navy guided missile destroyer was damaged after a missile exploded shortly after launch during an exercise off the U.S. Atlantic coast on Saturday, Navy officials have confirmed to USNI News. Read More
An artist’s representation of a Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile. Boeing Image
The Navy has issued a call to industry for options for an over-the-horizon anti-surface missile for the service’s future frigate design, according to a notice from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) posted on FedBizOpps. Read More
The following are Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) briefing slides from the Credit Suisse/McAleese 2016 Defense Programs Conference giving an overview of the Gerald R. Ford-class carrier (CVN-78) program. A previous version of this post may have appeared garbled in some browsers. Read More
