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An artist’s conception of a Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer . Raytheon Image
The Navy wants to buy guided-missile destroyers and attack submarines in bulk but has plans to upgrade the designs of both after the purchase, causing some concern among lawmakers that the design changes could hurt the programs’ stable cost and schedule. Read More
An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on June 9, 2017. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total of 80 Super Hornets the Navy is set to buy over the next five years could grow based on the findings of the Pentagon’s ongoing and overarching national defense strategy review, acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told USNI News on Thursday following a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Read More
Airman Michael Nywair signals that an F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Argonauts of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 is ready aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on June 7, 2017. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy intends to buy at least 80 more Boeing F/A-18E-F Super Hornets over the next five years to address its fighter shortfall, a change from its previous on-the-books plan to zero out the aircraft program beginning next year, service officials said in congressional testimony today. Read More
An artist’s conception of a Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer . Raytheon Image
The Navy has reached a tentative agreement with Huntington Ingalls Industries for the shipbuilder to build the first Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer (DDG-51) in its Mississippi yard, the Navy’s acting acquisition chief Allison Stiller told a House Armed Services panel last week. Read More
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) unveiled his latest attempt to modernize the defense acquisition process, focusing this time not on the way the military buys its big, expensive weapons but on helping the Defense Department “run more like a business.” Read More
Army Gen. Raymond Thomas delivers remarks after assuming command of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., March 30, 2016. DoD photo.
Some special operations units have found themselves in an “unsustainable” deployment tempo, with warfighters deployed for six months, home for six months and then heading back out the door again, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Read More
Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) stand topside as the submarine returns home to Guam on Dec. 8, 2016. Oklahoma City, one of four forward-deployed submarines homeported in Apra Harbor, returned to Guam this morning after an eight-month maintenance period known as Docking Selected Restricted Availability. US Navy Photo
U.S. Pacific Command operations were the focus of House and Senate armed services committee hearings this week, and PACOM commander Adm. Harry Harris’ testimony may have provided a glimpse at what he’d like to see in the Fiscal Year 2018 and beyond budget requests. Read More
Austal USA frigate design. Austal USA image
THE PENTAGON – The Navy is considering increasing its future frigate’s anti-air firepower and may open up the frigate design competition to hulls beyond the current two small surface combatants, the service told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska (SSBN 739) undocks from a dry dock at Puget Sound Navy Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility on March 8, 2016. US Navy photo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite a hiring push to increase the size of the workforce over the last several years, Naval Sea Systems Command is still short 2,000 workers in its public yards, the head of NAVSEA told lawmakers on Wednesday. Read More
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Deonce Cushinberry, a rifleman with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment, takes cover from simulated enemies behind an unmanned weaponized Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT) vehicle during an exercise for Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory Marine Air-Ground Task Force Integrated Experiment on Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 13, 2016. US Marine Corps photo.
The Pentagon should aim for interdependency, not just interoperability, in assessing its future warfighting requirements, three national security experts told the Senate Armed Services Air/Land subcommittee this week. Read More
