Brought to You by the Members of the U.S. Naval Institute
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane on May 20, 2015. ULA Photo
The House panel focused on national security space activities is set to explore reforms how the military uses space and could call for the creation of a new command or agency as early as next year, legislators said during a Tuesday hearing. Read More
Tug boats maneuver Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) into the James River during the ship’s Turn Ship evolution on June 11, 2016. US Navy photo.
The Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer is kicking off an independent review into the Navy’s Gerald Ford-class next-generation carrier program citing questions of performance of key systems aboard, according to an Aug. 23 memo obtained by USNI News. Read More
Gen. Joseph Dunford testifying before Congress on March 17, 2016. DoD Photo
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the next military strategy document will be kept classified, a recommendation often called for in House and Senate armed services committee hearings that began in the fall on “defense reform.” Read More
Sailors man the phone and distance line aboard the Arleigh Burke-Class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-57) on Nov. 7, 2014. US Navy Photo
This is the final version of this post.
PENTAGON — The Department of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 lower-than-expected budget submission follows closely with an overall Department of Defense drive to build higher end warfighting capabilities — but at a cost, according to budget documents released on Tuesday. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on Jan. 14, 2016 addressing the Surface Navy Association symposium. US Navy Photo
A month after a terse memo from the Office of the Secretary of Defense that accused the Navy of spending too many resources to plus up its ship numbers, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus defended his seven-year shipbuilding record in a speech at the Surface Navy Association symposium on Thursday. Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) in the background as Secretary of Defense Ash Carter flies in a V-22 Osprey on Nov. 5, 2015. DoD Photo
A version of this post originally appeared on Observer.com.
The United States Navy just struck an iceberg. It won’t sink the fleet, but it will damage its ability to deter emerging global conflicts. And one of those challenges became more apparent last week when the Chinese announced it was building its second aircraft carrier. Read More
Ash Carter and Ray Mabus on the flight deck of USS Freedom (LCS-1) in 2012. DoD Photo
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s list of directives Monday to the Navy to retool its budget for Fiscal Year 2017 revealed a split in priorities between the Secretary of the Navy and the Pentagon on the future of the force. Read More
The following is the Dec. 14, 2015 letter from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus directing several key budget changes to the service’s 2017 budget submission — including reducing the buy of Littoral Combat Ships/Frigates from 52 to 40 ships. Read More
Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) Vice Adm. Bill Moran on Nov. 21, 2014. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy’s initial set of recommendations to Congress to modify personnel legislation – along with the other services – has been completed ahead of likely congressional hearings next year, the Chief of Naval Personnel said on Wednesday. Read More
A panel of former U.S. defense and national security officials told a Senate panel the Pentagon’s key public strategy document — the Quadrennial Defense Review — may work better as a secret report. Read More
