Tag Archives: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

DARPA Aiming to Increase USV Range with Sea Trains Program

DARPA Aiming to Increase USV Range with Sea Trains Program

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Sea Hunter, an entirely new class of unmanned sea surface vehicle developed in partnership between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), completed an autonomous sail from San Diego to Hawaii and back—the first ship ever to do so autonomously. US Navy photo.

As the Pentagon prepares for a fight in the vastness of the Indo-Pacific, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a concept it hopes will allow unmanned surface vehicles to travel up to 14,000 nautical miles. Read More →

BWXT CEO: Navy’s Next-Generation SSN(X) Attack Boat Will Build Off Columbia Class

BWXT CEO: Navy’s Next-Generation SSN(X) Attack Boat Will Build Off Columbia Class

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Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN-780) on May 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s next attack submarine will feature technology in the Columbia-class program and be significantly larger than the current class of the Virginia-class attack submarines, the chief executive of BWX Technologies said on Monday as part of the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Read More →

SECNAV Braithwaite Calls for Light Carrier, ‘Joint Strike Frigate’ ; Sounds Alarm Over Chinese Naval Expansion

SECNAV Braithwaite Calls for Light Carrier, ‘Joint Strike Frigate’ ; Sounds Alarm Over Chinese Naval Expansion

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Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite speaks with U.S. sailors and Marines while visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea off the coast of Flamborough, United Kingdom on Oct. 1, 2020. UK Royal Navy Photo

Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite made a full-throated call for U.S. naval expansion, citing the growing Chinese Navy as the prime driver of the need for a larger fleet. Read More →

SECNAV Braithwaite Visits Palau as U.S. Courts More Partners in the Western Pacific

SECNAV Braithwaite Visits Palau as U.S. Courts More Partners in the Western Pacific

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USS Benfold (DD-65) is at anchor off Koror, Republic of Palau in 2012. US Navy Photo

Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite visited Palau during a weeklong swing through the Pacific, making him the second high-ranking Defense Department official to visit to the small island nation in the last two months as the Second Island Chain is being eyed to play an even larger role in military plans and operations going forward. Read More →

Navy Claims Victories in Modernizing Public Yards While Congress Questions Pace

Navy Claims Victories in Modernizing Public Yards While Congress Questions Pace

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USS Boise (SSN 764) arrived at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division to begin its 25-month extended engineering overhaul on June 18, 2018, but ultimately had to return to Naval Station Norfolk to continue awaiting maintenance because there was no room at Newport News for the sub amid two other boats’ maintenance overruns. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ photo.

The Navy is moving into the next phase of a wholesale revision of its ship maintenance infrastructure. Last week, the service announced it had started to digitally map the layout of its centuries-old Norfolk Naval Shipyard as it seeks to bring new technology and a more efficient workflow to the public yards. Read More →

NAVSEA: Analysis of Ship Repair Processes Led to Better On-Time Rates, More Realistic Schedules

NAVSEA: Analysis of Ship Repair Processes Led to Better On-Time Rates, More Realistic Schedules

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BAE Systems has received $170.7 million in contracts from the U.S. Navy to perform simultaneous maintenance and repair on two Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided-missile destroyers in its San Diego shipyard. Under the awarded contracts, the shipyard will tandem dry-dock the USS Stethem (DDG 63) and USS Decatur (DDG 73) in October. The synchronized two-ship docking will be a first for the company’s newest dry-dock in San Diego. The contracts include options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $185 million. BAE Systems photo

The chief of naval operations in January threw down an aggressive goal for surface ship maintenance: zero days lost to maintenance delays by the end of Fiscal Year 2021. Read More →

SECNAV Teases New Budget Overhaul, Strategies Set to Reshape Naval Operations

SECNAV Teases New Budget Overhaul, Strategies Set to Reshape Naval Operations

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Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea off the coast of Flamborough, United Kingdom on Oct. 1, 2020. US Navy Photo

BALTIMORE, Md. – The maritime services are poised to release several documents in the next few weeks that will outline a new path forward for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard under the National Defense Strategy, Navy Secretary Braithwaite previewed on Wednesday. Read More →

SECDEF Esper Calls for 500-Ship Fleet by 2045, With 3 SSNs a Year and Light Carriers Supplementing CVNs

SECDEF Esper Calls for 500-Ship Fleet by 2045, With 3 SSNs a Year and Light Carriers Supplementing CVNs

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The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group transits in formation with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group while conducting dual carrier and airwing operations in the Philippine Sea on June 23, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to include additional information from Secretary Esper’s rollout of Battle Force 2045.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a new future fleet plan for the Navy that would grow the attack submarine force, supplement nuclear-powered aircraft carriers with light carriers to achieve greater day-to-day presence, and invest heavily in small and unmanned ships for distributed operations. Read More →

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