Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) in the lobby of Trump Tower on Monday. C-SPAN Image
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), the frontrunner to serve as the next Navy secretary, was seen at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, just days after the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee sent a letter to the Trump administration endorsing Forbes for SECNAV. Read More
The following is a Dec. 1, 2016 letter from Rep Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) to Vice President-elect Mike Pence endorsing Rep Randy Forbes for Navy secretary. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks with Randy Forbes in Forbes’ office on June 13, 2013. Forbes is the likely pick for a Trump administration Secretary of the Navy. US Navy Photos
THE PENTAGON — An advocate for a 350-ship Navy and $20-billion annual shipbuilding budgets and a vocal opponent of Chinese aggression in the Western Pacific will likely be the pick for the next Secretary of the Navy in a Donald Trump Administration, USNI News has learned. Read More
USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) arrives home at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor following a strategic deterrent patrol on May 5, 2015. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A fund established last year to break out the Ohio-class Replacement nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) from the Navy’s traditional shipbuilding budget could cut the $100 billion price tag for the 12 boomers by up to 10 percent, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Read More
USS Cowpens (CG 63) returns to San Diego following a deployment to the western Pacific in 2014. US Navy Photo
The first in a planned series of contentious modernizations to the Navy’s guide missile cruiser fleet formally began in a Friday ceremony in San Diego, Calif. Read More
A screen grab of a Huntington Ingalls Industries’ video of the keel laying of nuclear carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). HII Image
Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) laid the keel for the second Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier — John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) — in a Saturday ceremony at the company’s Newport News, Va. shipyard. Read More
China’s carrier Liaoning, PLAN Photo
China uses “applied friction” – calling coral reefs “islands” to claim them, setting up aerial identification zones, building its navy’s blue water capacity – as part of its strategy to get its way in the Asia-Pacific region, the chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee said Wednesday. Read More
The ballistic-missile submarine USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) transits home after completing a strategic deterrence patrol in October 2014. US Navy photo.
The Navy needs about $100 billion to buy its upcoming class of ballistic missile submarines. And it needs a lot of support from Congress to secure that funding.
In the world of politics, where change is the only constant – where support for various departments goes in and out of style – finding long-term stability for something as big as the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) submarines is vital to its success.
This week, the House may have achieved that stability. Read More
The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN-738) transits the Saint Marys River.
The House will debate the future of the National Sea Based Deterrence Fund this week for the second time this budget cycle, with a small coalition offering an amendment to save the fund meant to help pay for the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP). Read More
A Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrators (UCAS-D) during a 2014 carrier landing test. US Naval Institute Photo
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) wants to keep the Navy’s two X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrators (UCAS-D) flying instead of sending the two unmanned vehicles to a museum or long term storage, according to a Thursday letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus obtained by USNI News. Read More
