ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s top officer said that a forthcoming force structure assessment will reflect the guidance of the National Defense Strategy, the changing security environment and emerging technology. “The security environment has only gotten more sporty, so we’ll…
Navy Begins Competition for New Training Helicopter
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for new training helicopters to replace its fleet of TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters in the Navy’s aviation training command. The Naval Air Systems Command posted the RFP on…
Navy Orders 79 Net-Enabled Harpoons from Boeing
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has exercised a contract option to order 79 Block II+ kits for Harpoon cruise missiles, the Defense Department said in a Jan. 30 release. The $16 million order by the Naval Air Systems Command comprises…
CNO Defends Survivability, Utility of Aircraft Carriers
WASHINGTON — The Navy’s top officer defended the notion of survivability for U.S. aircraft carriers and their battle groups in an era when great power competitors are developing advanced weaponry such as hypersonic missiles. “There is a great virtue to…
CNO: ‘We’ve Got to Restore Agility’
WASHINGTON — The Navy must be able to rapidly adjust to changing geopolitical situations and technological advances to maintain maritime superiority, the Navy’s top officer said. “We’ve got to, in the Navy, restore agility,” said Adm. John M. Richardson, chief…
Navy is Pushing Advances in Offensive Mine Warfare
ARLINGTON, Va. — While mine countermeasures dominate the Navy’s efforts in mine warfare, the service has accelerated improvements over the last two years in its weaponry in offensive mine warfare, the ability to lay anti-ship and anti-submarine mines. The service…
LPD 17 Program Manager: These Ships ‘Can Do Anything’
ARLINGTON, Va. — The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships (LPD 17s) in production are incorporating improvements as the class progresses to the Flight II configuration, the Navy’s program manager said. “The mission remains the same,” Capt. Brian Metcalf, the…
Navy Awards Lockheed Martin Contract for LCS 31
ARLINGTON, Va. — Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded to the Lockheed Martin LCS team a fixed-price, incentive-fee contract for an additional littoral combat ship, LCS 31, the company said in a release. LCS 31 will be built in Marinette,…
Austal USA Reveals Features of Its FFG(X) Conceptual Design for Navy Competition
ARLINGTON, Va. — Austal USA officials have revealed features of its conceptual design for the Navy’s competition for the Future Guided-Missile Frigate (FFG(X)), an evolution of its Independence-class littoral combat (LCS) design. The company has provided an artist’s concept and…
Navy’s DDG 51 Manager Revels in Program Stability
ARLINGTON, Va. — The program manager for the Navy’s new-construction Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided-missile destroyers reveled in the stability of the program in wake of the passage of the 2019 defense budget and the approval of multiyear procurement of…


