Tag Archives: Rep. Rob Wittman

Australians, French Avoid AUKUS Talk in Paris Ministerial Meeting, Commit to More Pacific Operations

Australians, French Avoid AUKUS Talk in Paris Ministerial Meeting, Commit to More Pacific Operations

(left to right) Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, defense minister Richard Marles, French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and defense minister Sebastien Lecornu. Australian Government Photo

Australian and French defense ministers pledged to produce artillery shells to support Ukraine against the ongoing invasion from Russia in the first meeting between the two countries since Canberra walked away from a conventional submarine deal with French sub-builder DCNS. Read More

Australia Should Work Closely With U.S. to Master Nuclear Submarine Building, Congressmen Say

Australia Should Work Closely With U.S. to Master Nuclear Submarine Building, Congressmen Say

Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean arrives alongside during a logistics port visit of Hobart, Tasmania on April 1, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo

Australians should now work shoulder to shoulder with Americans in mastering the building of nuclear submarines while Royal Australian Navy sailors serve on deployed U.S. Navy attack submarines to master their operations at sea, two members of the House Armed Services Committee said Friday.

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Fast Track Aussie Nuclear Submarine Development, Says MP on AUKUS Anniversary

Fast Track Aussie Nuclear Submarine Development, Says MP on AUKUS Anniversary

Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean arrives alongside during a logistics port visit of Hobart, Tasmania on April 1, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo

An Australian member of parliament wants to speed up the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra to send a clear message to China and Russia that Australia will defend its sovereignty against their aggressive ambitions. Read More

HII Argues for Aircraft Carrier Block Buy as New Enterprise Takes Shape

HII Argues for Aircraft Carrier Block Buy as New Enterprise Takes Shape

A keel section of the future aircraft carrier Enterprise CVN-80 on Aug 26, 2022. USNI News Photo

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Fatima Medina-Galeno might be one of the few naval shipbuilders in the United States who needs a solid Wi-Fi signal to get her job done. In addition to her steel-toed boots and her hardhat, Medina-Galeno lugs a rugged, dust-covered laptop on the job. Read More

Wittman: Australian Sailors Should be Underway on U.S. Submarines Now

Wittman: Australian Sailors Should be Underway on U.S. Submarines Now

Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean arrives alongside during a logistics port visit of Hobart, Tasmania, on April 1, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo

Australia needs its officers and sailors to learn how to operate American submarines now instead of waiting for construction on the country’s first nuclear submarine, the ranking Republican on a key congressional committee said Tuesday. Read More

Pentagon Official: Chinese Military Actions Against Foreign Ships, Aircraft Are No Accidents — They're Policy

Pentagon Official: Chinese Military Actions Against Foreign Ships, Aircraft Are No Accidents — They’re Policy

People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Intelligence Collection Vessel Haiwangxing operating off the north-west shelf of Australia. Australian Department of Defence Photo

The increasingly frequent aggressive actions by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force like “chaffing” an Australian patrol aircraft in international waters and causing a Canadian patrol aircraft to alter its course to avoid a collision off North Korea “look like a pattern and policy” dictated by Beijing rather than random acts by pilots, the Pentagon’s senior official on Indo-Pacific security said Tuesday. Read More

HASC's FY 23 NDAA Authorizes 13 Ships, Establishes Naval Review Committee

HASC’s FY 23 NDAA Authorizes 13 Ships, Establishes Naval Review Committee

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) pulls alongside the Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200) in preparation for a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea on Feb. 10, 2022. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee approved the annual defense policy bill early Thursday that would authorize the Navy to buy a total of 13 ships. Read More

New AUKUS Caucus Bill Calls for U.S.-Australia Sub Training Pipeline

New AUKUS Caucus Bill Calls for U.S.-Australia Sub Training Pipeline

Able Seaman Combat Systems Operator Benjamin Stewart participates in an Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise with a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine during Exercise ARC21 in 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would help the Royal Australian Navy train its future submarine warfare officers with U.S. sailors. Read More