MARINETTE, Wis. — Littoral Combat Ship 21, the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, has completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, Lockheed Martin said in an Aug. 24 release. Trials included a full-power run, maneuverability testing, and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the…
Coast Guard Decommissions Cutter Mellon After 52 Years of Service
SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the cutter Mellon during an Aug. 21 ceremony at Coast Guard Base Seattle that was presided over by Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. Mellon was one of the Coast Guard’s two remaining…
Elbit Subsidiary to Evaluate Navy Ventilator for COVID-19 Combat
ARLINGTON, Va. — A subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America has been selected by a Defense Department team of medical professionals and engineers, to support the development and industrialization of ventilator designs — including one by the U.S. Navy — to…
F-35 Won’t Miss Full-Rate Production Target, Pentagon Official Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — COVID-19-related delays will not slow the planned March 2021 start of full-rate production for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II strike fighter, the Defense Department’s top acquisition official says. “I am confident we are going to meet the March…
Three Mine Countermeasures Ships Set for Decommissioning
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy will decommission three of its Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships over the next few days, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNSFP) said in an August 20 release. The USS Champion, the USS Scout and the USS Ardent officially will be decommissioned at Naval Base San Diego on…
Defense Unit Certifies Five Small Commercial UAS for Government Use
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a Department of Defense organization that accelerates commercial technology for national defense, announced the availability of five U.S.-manufactured drone configurations to provide trusted, secure small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) options to the U.S. government,…
Navy Maturing Next-Generation Air Dominance Acquisition Approach
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has acknowledged that it has stood up a program office for the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program and is maturing the acquisition approach for the carrier-based power projection concept. The Navy has taken a go-slow…
Navy’s Medium USV to Be Based on Commercial Vehicle
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) being designed and built by L3Harris Technologies will be a purpose-built commercially derived vehicle, the company said in an Aug. 19 release. Although the Navy’s selection of Camden, New Jersey-based L3Harris was announced by the Defense…
MDA Considering Navy’s Aegis System for Homeland Missile Defense
WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is investigating the feasibility of using the Navy’s Aegis Combat System and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA as segment of a layered defense of the U.S. homeland. “We are investigating the possibility of deploying…
BAE to Modernize USS Preble Under $103.5 Million Contract
SAN DIEGO — BAE Systems has received a $103.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the maintenance and modernization of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble, the company said in an Aug. 18 release. The value of the competitively…
