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Airstrip construction on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea is pictured in this April 2, 2015.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — China’s recent actions to militarize the South China Sea have changed the operational landscape, and the U.S. Pacific Command needs more attack submarines and long-range surface missiles to keep up with the evolving threat, PACOM commander Adm. Harry Harris told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Read More
Taiwan-watchers waited for long four years for new arms sales, but their patience was not met with large reward when the news about imminent arms sale to Taiwan emerged at the end of November. Read More
An EA-18G Growler, assigned to the “Zappers” of Electronic Attack Squadron 130, launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Jan 13, 2014. US Navy Photo
The House and Senate appropriations committees released a final Fiscal Year 2016 spending plan that meets the new requirements of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and funds the Defense Department at $572.8 billion in base and Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funding. Read More
Guard at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Photo via Wikipedia
The following post has been updated to include a statement from Sen. John McCain and links to the individual Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announcements.
The State Department will present Congress a comparatively modest $1.83 billion arms foreign military sales deal to Taiwan today – the first arms package for the island nation in four years, USNI News has learned. Read More
Undated Photo of Taiwanese troops using U.S. equipment.
The lack of a pending arms package sale to Taiwan has raised concerns with two U.S. senators on America’s commitment to Taiwanese security, according to a Nov. 19 letter to the White House. Read More
The following is a Nov. 19, 2015 letter from Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) to the White House on arms sales to Taiwan. Read More
The following is the Oct. 8, 2015 letter from Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall to Senate Armed Services Committee chair Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the independent review of the Navy’s Remote Minehunting System. Read More
scientists and engineers recover a deployed Remote Minehunting System (RMS) during developmental testing of the Littoral Combat Ship’s mine warfare mission module package on Jan. 7, 2012. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include additional information from a letter from Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Navy has chartered an independent review of its criticized Remote Minehunting System (RMS), a key component of its Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasures mission package, which may affect the service’s decision to move forward with LCS testing and RMS acquisition, a Navy spokeswoman told USNI News. Read More
The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) deploys a remote multi-mission vehicle (RMMV) while testing the ship’s mine countermeasures mission package (MCM). US Navy Photo
The heads of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) expressed disappointment in the progress of the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) package for the Littoral Combat Ship and are recommending the Navy review other mine hunting technologies to fill looming needs in the fleet, according to a Monday letter to Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert obtained by USNI News. Read More
A screen grab of a Huntington Ingalls Industries’ video of the keel laying of nuclear carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). HII Image
Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) laid the keel for the second Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier — John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) — in a Saturday ceremony at the company’s Newport News, Va. shipyard. Read More
