The following is the July 9, 2021 Congressional Research Service report, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Tag Archives: Russia
AFRICOM: U.S. Forces ‘Commuting to Work’ to Curb Rising Terror Threat in Somalia After Pullout
U.S. forces host a range day with the Danab Brigade in Somalia, May 9, 2021. US Air Force Photo
After leaving Somalia in December, U.S. forces are “commuting to work” from other parts of Africa and Europe to combat the rising terrorist threat in Somalia and across the region. Read More
House Bill Cuts Money for Navy Nuke Cruise Missile, Saves 3 LCS from Decommissioning
Three littoral combat ships in various stages of construction at Marinette, Wisconsin during July 2015. The Navy is seeking to decommission USS Detroit (LCS-7), at right, and USS Little Rock (LCS-9), in the background. The ships were commissioned only in 2016 and 2017, respectively. USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), commissioned in 2015, is to remain in service. Christopher P. Cavas Photo used with permission
House appropriators are cutting development money for the Navy’s ship-launched nuclear cruise missile, preventing the service from decommissioning three Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships and adding funds for a second destroyer, according to the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee’s draft of the Fiscal Year 2022 defense spending bill issued today. Read More
MDA Chief: U.S. Needs Hybrid System to Defend Guam From Missile Threats
USS Wayne E Meyer (DDG 108) departs Apra Harbor, Naval Base Guam after a planned port visit in 2018
. US Navy Photo
The U.S. will likely need to deploy a hybrid system to defend Guam due to its difficult terrain and the variety of missile threats it faces, the head of the Missile Defense Agency said this week. Read More
MDA, NORTHCOM Heads Warn Funding Lapses Could Leave Missile Defense Gaps
A target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii during Flight Test Standard Missile-45. The USS JOHN FINN (DDG-113) detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system. Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target. Missile Defense Agency photo
This post has been updated to clarify comments from Gen. Glen VanHerck in Wednesday’s hearing.
The head of the Missile Defense Agency warned the House that a continuing resolution will leave gaps in testing and work on test ranges will “come to an all-stop” until the president signs a new budget into law, MDA director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said on Tuesday. Read More
MDA: U.S. Aircraft Carriers Now at Risk from Hypersonic Missiles
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sails behind the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), March 3, 2021. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of the first name of the director of the Missile Defense Agency, Vice Adm. Jon Hill.
U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said last week before the Senate. Read More
Analyst Says Pentagon ‘Walked Away From the 500-ship Navy’
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Jan. 19, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s modest shipbuilding request as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget shows the Pentagon has “walked away from the 500-ship Navy,” a senior defense analyst said Tuesday. Read More
UPDATED: Fleet Growth Stymied by Navy Budget Request
Submarine construction continues apace in the latest US Navy budget request, which asks for two more Virginia-class submarines and another installment for the missile sub Columbia. Here, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Montana (SSN-794) is seen just after launch in March 2021 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. HII Photo
This post has been updated with additional details from the Department of the Navy’s FY 2022 budget presentation.
The long-delayed Navy fiscal 2022 budget request submitted to Congress May 28 reflects modest increases in several areas but overall shows no significant changes over the previous year, either in weapons procurement or readiness accounts. Read More
Pentagon Report on P-8A Readiness for Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission
The following is the May 19, 2021 Department of Defense Inspector General investigation, Evaluation of the Readiness of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to Meet the U.S. European Command’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Requirements. Read More
NATO’s Steadfast Defender Exercise Highlights Allied Deterrence as Russian Aggression Grows
Ships from the U.S. Navy’s Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (IWOARG), the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group and the French and Norwegian navies transit the Atlantic Ocean in formation during a photo exercise on May 17, 2021. US Navy Photo
NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2021 exercise is helping participating countries return to “a deterrence mindset,” as Russia continues a military buildup and increases its aggression, according to a Navy admiral. Read More
