Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG-86) pulls into the Port of Suva, Fiji during a port visit Oct. 14, 2018. Navy photo.
Despite a shared history of fighting in World War II, the 16 Pacific Island nations think high ranking U.S. government policymakers suffer from “collective amnesia” when considering differing definitions of security, Fiji’s ambassador said Wednesday.
Amphibious assault vehicles depart the well deck aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) during Exercise Dawn Blitz 2015 (DB-15).
US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to note that USS New Orleans would be the fifth amphibious ship forward-deployed to Japan. USS Germantown (LSD-42) is also homeported in Japan and was not included in the original version of this story. The future amphibious force in Japan will include two LSDs, two LPDs and an America-class LHA.
The Navy is adding a fifth amphibious ship to its forward-deployed fleet in Japan and is bringing home one of the destroyers that has been forward-deployed the longest, the service announced. Read More
Sailors attend an all-hands call aboard USS Porter (DDG-78) in celebration of Independence Day July 4, 2016. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – The Navy is short about 6,200 sailors to meet its at-sea requirements for its current force, and that gap could grow as the service adds new ships to the fleet, the head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command told a House panel on Tuesday. Read More
Sailors heave in line aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111) during a replenishment-at-sea with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200) on Nov. 16, 2018. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include an additional statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
CAPITOL HILL – The Navy’s Pacific and Atlantic fleet commanders have increased their ability to understand surface ship readiness at the individual ship level and have shown their willingness to cancel or delay deployments if a ship has not proven it can safely conduct that mission, the two fleet commanders told lawmakers today. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) transits the Western Pacific on Nov. 12, 2017. US Navy photo.
Two U.S. Navy ships passed through the Taiwan Strait today for the fourth time in recent months, in a move that is allowed under international law but usually provokes a negative reaction from China. Read More
USS McCampbell (DDG 85) departs U.S. Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka and transits into Tokyo Bay, May 14, 2018. Navy photo.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85) steamed past the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Monday in a freedom of navigation operation that drew the ire of Chinese government officials.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as the ship transits the Strait of Gibraltar on Dec. 4, 2018. US Navy Photo
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018. This story is part of a series; please also see U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps Operations.
If 2018 made anything clear, it’s that the U.S. Navy noticed the increased Russian submarine activity in the Atlantic and won’t let it go unaddressed.
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visits Indonesia to meet with Indonesia navy leadership and to reaffirm the U.S. Navy’s commitment to strengthen the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Indonesia on Oct. 20, 2018. US Navy Photo
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson lays out aggressive acquisition goals and overhauls in how the Navy develops new technologies and implements operating concepts in a sweeping 2.0 revision of his Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority. The push to field new kit and concepts is his effort to ready the Navy for not only high-end warfare but also gray-zone conflict and other challenges related to Russian and Chinese aggression that the service and joint force will have to confront, according to a copy of the document reviewed by USNI News on Monday. Read More
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping before the beginning of the BRICS Leaders’ meeting in 2017. Kremlin Photo
Nations stretching from India into Southeast Asia see China’s investments and loan practices as a direct threat to their sovereignty as much as Beijing’s military, the editor of a new work on Indo-Pacific security balance said last week. Read More
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) leads a formation of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 ships as U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets pass overhead for a photo exercise during Valiant Shield 2018 on Sept. 17. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct the hull number of the former USS St. Louis. It’s LKA-116, not LKA-117.
The high-end biennial Valiant Shield exercise kicked off in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, with some of the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ most advanced platforms participating in the weeklong event. Read More
