The Yasen-M nuclear cruise missile submarine Krasnoyarsk in January. Tass Photo
Russia could have its most powerful and quiet nuclear attack submarines on persistent patrols off either U.S. Coast in the next two years, the head of U.S. Northern Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Read More
Virginia-class submarine with the Virginia Payload Module
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro will name the future Virginia-class nuclear attack boat SSN-808 after a former Navy secretary, the sea service announced Tuesday. Read More
Virginia-class submarine USS Vermont (SSN-792) as she returns home to Submarine Base New London on Thursday, on Dec. 24, 2020. US Navy Photo
Some parts on Virginia-class attack boats are wearing out faster than the Navy anticipated 20 years ago, and buying replacement parts is further straining a nuclear submarine industrial base that’s already juggling an expansion of construction of new hulls and maintaining the current fleet.
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise (SSN 764) enters Souda Bay, Greece, during a scheduled port visit on Dec. 23, 2014. Boise conducted naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe during its last deployment that ended in January 2015 — and the submarine has been awaiting a maintenance availability ever since, due to limited capacity in public and private yards. US Navy photo.
After years of struggling to conduct attack submarine maintenance – with the four public naval shipyards prioritizing SSN work last, behind a backlog of ballistic-missile sub and aircraft carrier work, and private shipyards finding it tough to resume submarine repair work after years of only doing new construction – the Navy appears back on track for its SSN maintenance, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News. Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transits the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 14, 2019. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy has taken several cracks over the years at trying to define a new future aircraft carrier, one that might be less expensive or less vulnerable. Read More
Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
Negotiations to build the Block V Virginia-class submarines will likely result in a contract for fewer subs than what Congress authorized, than the Navy wants and than industry can build, a shipbuilding executive told Wall Street analysts on Thursday. Read More
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Dec. 8, 2018. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – Vice Adm. Michael Gilday supports the Navy’s vision for a larger and more lethal Navy that uses data to make decisions and incorporates industry’s technological advances rapidly, according to advance policy questions he submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Read More
Workers stand pose for a photo in the four-tube “quad-pack” built for the U.S. Ohio Replacement-class and U.K. Successor-class. General Dynamics Electric Boat Photo via US Navy
The Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat nearly half a billion dollars to help shore up its submarine supplier base through equipment purchases and plant expansions.
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) steams through the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 26, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s latest 30-year shipbuilding plan outlines a path forward that includes less near-term growth in fleet size but reaches and sustains a 355-ship fleet sooner than last year’s plan. Read More
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) prepares to pull into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. in 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – Maintenance backlogs continue to plague the Navy’s surface ship and attack submarine readiness, with the service losing the equivalent of 17 ships for operational tasking this year due to delays in getting repairs, according to an analysis from the Government Accountability Office. Read More
