Freedom-class littoral combat ships USS Sioux City (LCS-11) and USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) moor alongside one another during a nesting evolution on Naval Station Mayport, Fla. on March 25, 2019. US Navy Photo
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the U.S. military doesn’t have a choice in retiring legacy systems, like the Littoral Combat Ship, to make way for future shipbuilding investments. Read More
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility successfully undocked USS Charlotte (SSN 766) Jan. 26 from Dry Dock #3. The undocking was a major milestone in the submarine’s engineered overhaul availability.
This story has been updated to clarify that USS Boise (SSN-764) is waiting to begin its engineering overhaul.
Cutting the Navy’s ship maintenance backlog will require recruiting and retaining skilled workers in the nation’s public and private shipyards, the nominee to head the sea service’s acquisition office testified Wednesday. Read More
Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo
The Navy needs to resist “requirements creep” in changing designs to complete its number one strategic priority, the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine program (SSBN-826), Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said on Monday at a virtual conference hosted by the Southeastern New England Defense Industrial Alliance. Read More
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) steam in formation during a Strait of Hormuz transit, Sept. 18 on Sept. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
Rather than focusing on the “arbitrary” 355-ship fleet total, the service should concentrate more effort on developing autonomous vehicles, the top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee said today. Read More
In this aerial photograph, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) sits at Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding division. The ship is approximately 76 percent complete and is progressing through final outfitting and testing. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.
This story has been updated to include a statement from a Pentagon spokesperson.
The Pentagon is performing a “budget relook” of the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 proposal, with Navy shipbuilding topping the list of items for reassessment, USNI News has learned. Read More
Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks reacts to the start of her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. Feb. 2, 2021. DoD Photo
The Senate on Monday voted to confirm Kathleen Hicks as the deputy defense secretary. Read More
Virginia-class submarine Delaware (SSN 791) was moved out of a construction facility into a floating dry dock using a transfer car system in 2018. HII Photo
A group of senators pressed the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday to explain why her agency carries over approximately $8 billion in unspent funds year-over-year that lawmakers argued could be put toward building a second Virginia-class submarine next year. Read More
Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, met with journalists from the Defense Writers Group, an association of news outlets with reporters that cover national security issues, at the George Washington University on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. GWU Photo
The final conference report on the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act won’t be ready until after the Nov. 3 election, the outgoing ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee said on Wednesday. Read More
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.
The House and the Senate agree they need to prioritize the Indo-Pacific region in their annual defense policy and spending bills. They don’t quite agree on how far to go in doing that, but an overriding sense that they need to start somewhere this year will likely get them to the creation of a Indo-Pacific fund to counter China, akin to the European Deterrence Initiative created in 2014 to push back against Russia. Read More
Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Lashavya Barber welds aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Eisenhower is undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. US Navy photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Vice Adm. Michael Gilday says he’s ready to get smart on ship maintenance and tackle the Navy’s ongoing readiness challenges if confirmed as the next chief of naval operations. Read More
