USS Oregon (SSN-788) pierside at General Dynamics Electric Boat on Feb. 28, 2022. USNI News Photo
The White House released a supplemental budget request Friday that included $3.4 billion to support the submarine industrial base as part of a larger $50 billion package that includes weapons for Ukraine and humanitarian aid for Israelis and Palestinians following the Hamas attacks in Gaza, according to the proposal reviewed by USNI News. Read More
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
The Pentagon needs a third shipyard that can build nuclear-powered ships so the U.S. can keep pace with China and Russia’s nuclear modernization, a congressional commission said in a new report published Thursday. Read More
Virginia-class submarine USS Oregon (SSN-793) transits the Thames River during routine operations in Groton, Conn., on Oct. 6. US Navy Photo
A group of Republican lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to boost submarine industrial base support with a claim the U.S. submarine force could be at risk if Washington goes through with the sale of Virginia-class nuclear attack boats to the Royal Australian Navy, according to the letter obtained by USNI News. Read More
Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo
Two lawmakers overseeing the Navy are calling on the service’s secretary to deliver an overdue study about its amphibious fleet. Read More
Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Paul Villanyi, right, from Spring Hill, Florida, directs Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) 2nd Class Patrick Shores, from Chicago, during a monitored maintenance conducted on the AS/4293-A V/UHF Acquisition Antenna on the forward masthead light-pole aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) on April 8, 2021. US Navy Photo
A group of bipartisan lawmakers have drafted legislation aimed at recapitalizing America’s public and private shipyards, as Congress and the Biden administration grapple with a nationwide infrastructure improvement plan. Read More
The following is the March 15, 2021 letter from the Maine and Mississippi congressional delegation to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Navy shipbuilding. Read More
Deputy Defense Secretary nominee Kathleen Hicks. Center for Strategic and International Studies Photo
The nominee for the number-two civilian job in the Pentagon told a Senate panel on Tuesday the Navy’s proposed long-term shipbuilding plan would “require future analysis to validate the numbers.” Read More
Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin responds to a question during his Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19, 2021. DoD Photo
President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Defense Department plans to take another look at the National Defense Strategy should he be confirmed, he told lawmakers on Tuesday. Read More
Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 1, 2017. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include information from a Feb. 10 budget briefing with Rear Adm. Randy Crites, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget.
The proposed Navy shipbuilding plan that cuts a Virginia-class submarine, a frigate and an oiler that were previously planned for FY 2021 received immediate bipartisan pushback from the House and the Senate. Read More
Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo
Ahead of next week’s release of a Fiscal Year 2021 budget request that is widely feared to cut Navy spending, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee is proposing legislation that would protect shipbuilding plans. Read More
