Dejon Butts welds in a submarine shop. Newport News Shipbuilding Photo
About a month after governments and employers began taking drastic actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, working from home and standing six feet apart at grocery stores have become rapidly the norm. But what about shipyard workers who cannot stay at home, who must work alongside colleagues to continue what has been deemed a mission-critical line of work? 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
USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) during construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. BIW photo
Two senior lawmakers said they don’t have enough information to evaluate the Trump administration’s “hard rudder turn” on its shipbuilding budget that was presented last month to Congress. Read More
Sailors aboard to Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Delaware (SSN-791) on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo
The following post was updated to include a statement from Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations defense subcommittee.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Restoring funding for a second Virginia-class fast-attack submarine in Fiscal Year 2021 tops the list of priorities when lawmakers form the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act, said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.
Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper is briefed on USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) advanced weapons elevators (AWE) by Capt. John J. Cummings, Ford’s commanding officer. Navy photo
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper faced sustained bipartisan criticism from the House Armed Services Committee over the Pentagon’s proposed shipbuilding plan during a Wednesday hearing on the Fiscal Year 2021 Pentagon budget.
USS Minnesota (SSN-783) under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding in 2012. U.S. Navy Photo
A critical nuclear submarine supplier could take financial hits for years if the Navy sticks to buying just one Virginia-class fast-attack submarine in Fiscal Year 2021.
Virginia-class submarine Washington (SSN-787) under construction in 2016 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. HII Photo
Money to buy a second Virginia-class submarine is number one on the Navy’s $5.4 billion Fiscal Year 2021 Unfunded Priorities List, USNI News has learned. Read More
Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 1, 2017. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include information from a Feb. 10 budget briefing with Rear Adm. Randy Crites, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget.
The proposed Navy shipbuilding plan that cuts a Virginia-class submarine, a frigate and an oiler that were previously planned for FY 2021 received immediate bipartisan pushback from the House and the Senate. Read More
Adm. James G. Foggo, III, commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa, shakes hands with Capt. Daniel Prochazka, the executive officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on on Dec. 9, 2019. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Russia continues to increase its submarine activity in the Mediterranean, Arctic and Atlantic, the U.S. Navy has made organizational changes to be more responsive but should invest in unmanned systems to support forces in the European theater, the four-star admiral who leads Naval Forces Europe said. Read More
Virginia-class submarine Washington (SSN-787) under construction in 2016 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. HII Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy’s ability to keep on track its top acquisition program, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, rests heavily on its ability to keep the Virginia-class attack boat program on track – something the two submarine builders have struggled with in recent years amid challenges with their workforce and supplier base as the Virginia program increased to a two-a-year production cadence. Read More
