The U.S. Navy conducted and announced two high-profile ship movements in recent days, both intended to send messages to international rivals. In the latest, the USS John McCain (DDG 56) “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands, consistent…

Airborne Tactical Advantage to Deliver up to $441M in Contracted Air Services
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. (ATAC), part of the Textron Systems segment of Textron Inc., has been selected to continue to provide the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps with fleet fighter jet training support services under…

Navy’s Newest Yard Tug Delivered to Bremerton
BREMERTON, Wash. – The Navy’s first Yard Tug (YT) 808 class tug recently was delivered to Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton Annex, the Program Executive Office – Ships said in an Oct. 29 release. Only 17 days after delivery, YT 808 was…

HII Breaks Ground on Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries has broken ground on a new Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence in Hampton, Virginia, the company said in a Sept. 22 release. Two buildings totaling over 150,000 square feet will be constructed on…

Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 gets first MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS
NORFOLK, Va. — Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 received its first MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter on Sept. 15 aboard Naval Station Norfolk, the squadron announced. HSC-22 marks the first East Coast squadron to operate the MH-60S Knighthawk, MQ-8B Fire…

AI, Machine Learning, seen revolutionizing undersea activities
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and unmanned systems are enabling surface and undersea activities even while COVID-19 hampers the ability to put humans on ships, maritime leaders said during a webinar on Sept. 17. Retired Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, deputy administrator…