Workers from the Vigor Shipyard use a combination of sand and water to sand blast the hull of the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS-40). US Navy Photo
As the Navy’s surface ship maintenance and modernization requirements are projected to keep rising, the maintenance community is testing out a few new ideas to bring in more ship repair yards and help those yards be more efficient in their work. Read More
Information Systems Technician 1st Class Heather Edbauer assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), track inventory while issuing new network computers for shipboard offices. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy is seeing first-hand that thoughtful data collection and analysis can go a long way in addressing lingering readiness problems, as the Navy Digital Warfare Office continues to roll out a set of pilot programs meant to introduce the service to the benefits of data science.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) transits the Elizabeth river from its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 2016. US Navy Photo
The Navy has gotten creative in dealing with budget uncertainties and continuing resolutions, developing a new ship maintenance contract structure to keep 11 ship availabilities on track at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2018 that would otherwise face major delays due to the impending CR, the head of surface ship maintenance told USNI News. Read More
Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) observe as the ship pulls into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., on Aug. 5, 2017. US Navy photo.
The Government Accountability Office recommended the Navy revisit its plans to improve and modernize its four public shipyards – something the service is already in the midst of – after finding that the yards’ overall condition remains poor and the timeline and cost to achieve the Navy’s full list of needed improvements continue to grow. Read More
Lt. Cmdr. Taylor South, right, assigned to Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC), and Kevin Eppleman, a civilian diver assigned to Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC), conduct a propeller inspection on the Ticonderoga class-guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) in Souda Bay, Greece, on July 3, 2017. US Navy photo.
SAN DIEGO – The Navy is looking at several changes to its surface ship maintenance practices to keep costs down and on-time deliveries up, including considering a new contracting model and performing open and inspect work early enough for the results to influence the solicitation to industry. Read More
The guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726) arrives at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on April 4, 2017, to begin a major maintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility. US Navy photo.
The Fiscal Year 2017 compromise spending bill has “shortfalls” in ship maintenance funding, but the House Armed Services Committee will look to increase funding for maintenance and modernization availabilities in 2018, two top committee members said today. Read More
The “Pukin’ Dogs” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143 perform a flyover in formation during a homecoming celebration at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana on July 12, 2016. US Navy photo.
THE PENTAGON – The White House released its Fiscal Year 2017 supplemental funding request today, which had been touted as being focused on gaining near-term readiness but may come too late to fully support operations and maintenance additions in this current year. Read More
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) arrives pierside at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton prior to a planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. US Navy photo.
The Navy may have swung too far from time-based maintenance towards condition-based maintenance, service officials say, and are discussing reversing course to help get through maintenance periods on a shorter timeline. Read More
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) patrols the Philippine Sea in support of Valiant Shield 2016 (VS16). US Navy Photo
A historically small fleet and a relentless operational tempo are proving the Navy is too small to meet more than its bare minimum requirement around the world, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran told a Senate panel on Wednesday. Read More
Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran delivers remarks at the 2016 Future Strategy Forum at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., US Navy Photo
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the re-work required on the recent USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) maintenance availability, due to source error. The ship required seven percent rework and saw a 42 percent growth in work.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Without a readiness-focused supplemental spending bill passed by lawmakers this spring, the Navy and Marine Corps would stop flying at home and ship and submarine maintenance availabilities would be canceled, the vice chief of naval operations and assistant commandant of the Marine Corps said at a hearing today. Read More
