ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has awarded an $869 million contract modification for continued work on the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) design and support, but which also includes an option to build the first two Columbia SSBNs when funds are…
Navy Orders 2 MQ-9 Reaper UAVs for Marine Corps
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Naval Air Systems Command has ordered two MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles for the Marine Corps. The Naval Air Systems Command ordered the two Reapers from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), of Poway, California, with…
House Seapower Subcommittee Announces Proposals for 2021
ARLINGTON, Va. — The House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces has announced its proposals for the mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In a June 22 release, chairman Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and ranking…
Navy Concerned About Labor Strike at Bath Iron Works
ARLINGTON, Va. — The decision of shipyard workers at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, to go on strike has U.S. Navy officials concerned about slowed delivery of new-construction guided-missile destroyers (DDGs). With shipbuilding and ship repair…
DoD Acts to Shore Up Shipbuilding Industrial Base Amid Pandemic
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department is taking more actions to shore up the shipbuilding industrial base, among other industrial sectors, the department said in a June 18 release. The actions, made under the Defense Production Act Title III, are…
F/A-18F Crash Only Second Navy Aircraft Lost So Far in 2020
ARLINGTON, Va. — The crash of a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter on June 18 was only the second loss of a Navy aircraft so far in 2020 — or in fiscal 2020 as well — according to an…
Block III Super Hornets Headed for Navy Flight Tests
ARLINGTON, Va. — Boeing has delivered the first two Block III Super Hornet strike fighters to the U.S. Navy. The aircraft, an F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F, will go through comprehensive testing by Navy air test and evaluation (VX) squadrons over…
Last Carrier Deployment for Marine Corps Legacy F/A-18 Hornets Underway
ARLINGTON, Va. — When the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz deployed last week for a major deployment in the Pacific Ocean, it was carrying a bit of history. On board as a unit of Carrier Air Wing 17 was Marine Fighter…
Senate Bill Would Require More DDGs in Rota
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Senate Armed Services Committee has marked up its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require a plan to increase the number of Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain. The mark-up, released June 11, “[r]equires the Chief…
Navy Special Projects Patrol Squadron Converting to P-8A Poseidon
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s only special projects patrol squadron has moved to its new base and soon will operate a new aircraft. Special Projects Patrol Squadron 2 (VPU-2), which flies modified P-3C Orion maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft, “will transition to P-8A this summer,”…
