Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN-784) arrives at the Trident Refit Facility’s Magnetic Silencing Facility (MSF) in 2017. US Navy Photo
The Navy may have a tougher time negotiating for its next batch of attack submarines after the House voted not to include a measure that would give the service advanced procurement dollars to increase the rate of submarine construction.
Indiana (SSN-789) was delivered to the U.S. Navy by Newport News Shipbuilding on June 25, 2018. Pictured during sea trials in May, the newest Virginia-class submarine will be commissioned later this year. HII Photo
As some lawmakers hope to leverage industrial base capacity and buy an additional two attack submarines in the coming years, an amendment set for a vote on Thursday will determine if the Navy gets the up-front funding it would need for those additional submarine purchases. Read More
Army Lt. Gen. Austin S. Miller testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 19, 2018. DoD Photo
The nominee to lead American and coalition forces in Afghanistan said the key to safely withdrawing U.S. and coalition troops lie in reaching a political solution among the disparate parties and not simply disrupting Taliban operations or hunting down terrorist groups like the Islamic State, al Qaeda or the Haqqani Network. Read More
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis shakes hands with Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, before hearing on the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington D.C., June 13, 2017. DoD Photo
The U.S. Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2019 defense authorization bill, setting the stage for negotiations with members of the House of Representatives to create a unified set of policy and spending priorities to approve later this year.
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. HII Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee is looking for more information from the Navy before it will support buying additional ships in Fiscal Year 2019, which its House counterparts wholeheartedly endorsed doing. Read More
A U.S. Marine with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) provides security for Marine advisors during an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 12, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
The United States, NATO and coalition partners indirectly created more warlords “who were just as bad as the terrorists themselves” for Afghans by pouring huge amounts of money into grandiose projects without proper oversight and coordination, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said Thursday. Read More
Pilots stand on the flight deck of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on July 30, 2017. US Navy Photo
A policy that would let Navy and Marine Corps pilots flow in and out between active duty, the reserves and civilian work may be the way for the sea services to address aviation retention shortfalls, the nominee for the department’s top civilian manpower post told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday. Read More
Adm. Phil Davidson takes a selfie with a sailor during Fleet Week New York 2017. US Navy Photo
Adm. Phil Davidson was confirmed to be the next commander of U.S. Pacific Command by the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
Adm. Philip S. Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, delivers the keynote address at the Surface Navy Association’s 30th National Symposium on Jan. 11, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted to confirm Adm. Phil Davidson as the next commander of U.S. Pacific Command. Read More
The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) departs Naval Station Mayport on Feb. 7, 2018, for a scheduled six-month deployment. US Navy photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Navy and Marine Corps leaders are mulling if and how to up-gun the San Antonio-class LPD Flight II ships; whether to buy more attack submarines and how to extend the lives of a handful of Los Angeles-class; and other ideas to increase the size and the lethality of the fleet in the near- to mid-term. Read More
