ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s top acquisition official said the service’s efforts to accelerate contract awards in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic are helping the defense industry sustain its economic health at all levels and positioning the Navy and industry to emerge from the…
MARAD’s Buzby: Readiness of Sealift, Ready Reserve Force Suffering
ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. strategic sealift fleets need recapitalization and some increased manning to achieve the readiness that the nation needs to sustain its maritime power, the U.S. maritime administrator said April 14. “The readiness is suffering,” a fact that sealift stakeholders recognize, Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby said during a webcast that is part of…
USMI to Build Special Operations Combatant Craft
ARLINGTON, Va. — United States Marine Inc. (USMI) has been awarded a $108 million contract to build combatant craft for the U.S. Special Operations Command, the Defense Department said in a release. The $108 million maximum indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity delivery order contract with a five-year ordering period calls for combatant craft assault…
Coast Guard: Illegal Fishing in Oceans a National Security Issue
WASHINGTON — Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is a national security issue that threatens global economic order and the sovereignty of nations and that enforcement is over-stretched to counter the threat, U.S. officials said. IUU includes fishing without a permit, catching over a legal limit, catching the wrong…
Wicker Praises HII Contract for Amphibious Transport Dock Ship
ARLINGTON, Va. — The earlier-than-expected April 3 award to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipbuilding division of a $1.5 billion contract modification for the procurement of the detail design and construction of amphibious transport dock ship LPD 31 was praised by a U.S. senator as a…
Navy Orders Materials for Harpoon Missiles for Six Allies and Partners
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered materials for AGM/RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles for six allied and partner nations, the Defense Department said in an April 2 release. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Boeing a $73.2 million contract modification to provide additional long-lead…
Navy Orders Four New LCU 1700 Utility Landing Craft from Swiftships
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered four more of its new utility landing craft (LCU) for its amphibious warfare forces. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Swiftships of Morgan City, Louisiana, a $50.1 million modification to a previously-awarded contract “to exercise an option for the construction of…
Navy Orders Two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered two more E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle management aircraft, the Defense Department said in a contract announcement. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems of Melbourne, Florida, a $404 million contract modification to the previously awarded, fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract, the department said…
Navy, Coast Guard to Surge Drug-Interdiction Support to SOUTHCOM
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard will surge ships and aircraft to the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility to counter increased cartel drug running amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and Defense Department officials announced. At an April 1 press briefing at the White House,…
Geurts: Ship Construction Ongoing, Repairs Continuing Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is continuing to build and repair ships amid the COVID-19 pandemic but also is looking ahead to position itself to accelerate as the nation recovers from the pandemic, the service’s top acquisition official said. The repair yards…
