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The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN 738) prepares to get underway for routine operations from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., March 15, 2016. US Navy photo.
If the Navy is going to maintain its rate of building two Virginia-class attack submarines a year even while building the Ohio Replacement Program ballistic missile submarine, the service must make that decision sooner rather than later. Read More
An artist’s conception of a Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer . Raytheon Image
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy’s chief acquisition officer said despite recent shifts in its destroyer acquisition outlook – the service’s program to put a next generation radar on a Flight III Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer (DDG-51) hull is on track. Read More
San Antonio-class amphib Portland launches at Ingalls Shipbuilding on Saturday. HII Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy could pull the first LX(R) dock landing ship replacement up a year, from Fiscal Year 2020 to 2019, to address vendor needs, but it could not buy the ship in 2018 as an industrial base coalition has requested, the service’s acquisition chief said Wednesday in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Read More
The launch of the future USS Montgomery (LCS-8) on Aug 6, 2014 in Mobile, Ala. Austal USA Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The future of the Littoral Combat Ship/frigate program is still far from decided with the split between factions spilling into a Tuesday Senate hearing. Read More
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
