Mark Vandroff, a retired Navy captain and engineering duty officer, was installed last summer as CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine, shipbuilder of the U.S. Navy’s Freedom-class littoral combat ship and now the Constellation-class frigate. A former ship program manager, he…
Aegis Going Through Substantial Digital Transformation, Lockheed Martin Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Aegis Combat System is going through substantial digital transformation as its processing speed is increased and more sensors and weapons are integrated with it, a Lockheed Martin official said. The Aegis Combat System’s “relevance to the…
Navy’s Newest Fire Scout UAV Version Prepares for Westpac Deployment
ARLINGTON, Va. — The newest version of the Navy’s Fire Scout UAV is being prepared for deployment to the Western Pacific, according to an official photograph. An MQ-8C Fire Scout was depicted in a Dec. 22 official Navy photograph taken…
USS Abraham Lincoln Deploys with First Marine Corps F-35C Squadron
SAN DIEGO — The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) departed on a regularly scheduled deployment Jan. 3 as the centerpiece of a carrier strike group that included the Marine Corps’ first F-35C Lightning II squadron. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike…
NAVSEA Orders Two More Mark VI Patrol Boats for Ukraine
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered two more Mark VI patrol boats for the government of Ukraine, the Defense Department said. The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded SAFE Boats International of Bremerton, Washington, a $25.6 million firm-fixed-price modification…
NAVSEA to Proceed with COBRA II Littoral Mine-Countermeasures System
ARLINGTON, Va. — Naval Sea Systems Command announced it intends to solicit bids for a contract to design, develop and build a Block II version of the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis system. The COBRA Block I is a mine-…
Marine Corps to Cease Deployments, Water Ops of AAV7 Vehicles
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps has decided to cease deploying AAV7 assault amphibious vehicles as well as operating them in water during exercises, the Corps said in a release. The decision is a consequence of a fatal mishap on…
Navy Down-Select for Compact Rapid Attack Weapon Expected in February
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s down-select of a company to manufacture the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon is expected in February 2022, a defense industry official said. David Portner, Northrop Grumman’s senior program manager for undersea weapons, said during a Dec. 15…
Reliability Most Challenging Aspect of Large, Medium USV Designs
ARLINGTON, Va. — The most challenging aspect of designing large unmanned surface vessels for the Navy is building reliability of its systems, a senior defense industry official said. “We can solve the autonomy challenge,” said Kevin Knowles, senior manager of strategic…
Schultz: Two FRCs Soon to Depart for Basing in Persian Gulf
ARLINGTON, Va. — The second pair of Sentinel fast-response cutters are soon to depart U.S. waters on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean bound for permanent basing in the Persian Gulf. Coast Guard Commandant Karl Schultz, speaking Dec. 8 at…
