ARLINGTON, Va. — One of the big challenges facing the U.S. Navy in the future deployment of unmanned systems is how to obtain and use them effectively on a global scale, the Navy’s top acquisition official says. Unmanned systems are already…
Pentagon Assessment: China Now Has World’s Largest Navy
ARLINGTON, Va. — The People’s Republic of China, increasing its two-decade military buildup, now has the world’s largest navy, according to the U.S. Defense Department’s latest annual assessment of China’s military capabilities. The Pentagon’s 2020 report to Congress on “Military and…
Sidelined Ice Breaker Healy Means Loss of U.S. Presence in the Arctic, Coast Guard Official Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander says she does not know yet how long it will take, or how much it will cost, to repair fire damage to the only U.S. ice breaker patrolling the Arctic. The temporary…
COVID-19 Shows Importance of Ship Self-Sufficiency at Sea, Surface Force Chief Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — One lesson learned from the challenge of the novel coronavirus pandemic is that U.S. Navy ships and their crews need to be self-reliant and work with the equipment and skills on hand, the commander of Naval Surface Force…
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…
More COVID-19 Infections Pop on Okinawa, on Another Carrier, Within President’s Helicopter Squadron
ARLINGTON, Va. — Another person has tested positive for COVID-19 at a U.S. Marine Corps installation on Okinawa, bringing to 16 the number of new cases since Aug. 1 at two installations on the Japanese island with novel coronavirus clusters,…
Tiered COVID-19 Testing System Exceeding Weekly Goal, Pentagon Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — The tiered system for testing of U.S. military personnel for COVID-19, considered a key element in defeating the novel coronavirus, has exceeded the goal of 56,000 tests per week, Defense Department officials told Pentagon reporters on July 30….
Reinventing ‘Normal’: Long-Term Rules Settle Into Place for Prolonged Siege Against Virus
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, victimized this spring by a COVID-19 outbreak, is back home in San Diego and seemingly healthy. U.S. Marines, no longer using their T-shirts as face masks, are rotating back to Australia but with strict…
Okinawa COVID-19 Spread Slows as Marines Phase in More Aggressive Testing
ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Marine Corps leaders on Okinawa have relaxed restrictions for some essential off-base activities as the spread of COVID-19 on the island has slowed and U.S. military headquarters in Japan ordered a more rigorous novel coronavirus testing policy…