ARLINGTON, Va. — A Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SP-MAGTF) returned from a five-month deployment to Latin America last month as the first to deploy with a deputy commander from a partner nation. “We were the first SP-MAGTF to…
MCPON: Sailors Must Be ‘Qualified, Astute Technicians’
WASHINGTON — The Navy needs to capture the best talents resident in its Sailors to meet the needs of a future fight, the service’s senior enlisted adviser said. The Navy needs to “find ways to best capture that talent and…
Navy to Establish Submarine Group in Norfolk
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has directed the establishment of a submarine group command in Norfolk, Virginia, later this year. According to an internal Navy directive, commander, Submarine Group Two (COMSUBGRU TWO) will be established on Sept. 30 at Naval…
Navy Orders Five Ospreys from Bell-Boeing
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has ordered five more V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft under a modification to a multiyear contract. Naval Air Systems Command awarded to Bell Boeing a $367 modification for five Ospreys on Dec. 28, an addition to…
CNO: U.S. 2nd, 3rd Fleets to Become Expeditionary
ARLINGTON, Va. — Two of the Navy’s U.S.-based numbered fleets will become expeditionary, backed up at home by their respective training carrier strike groups (CSGs), the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson aid. The move is a reflection…
CNO’s Revised ‘Design for Maintaining Maritime Security’ Pushes Columbia SSBN Schedule
ARLINGTON, Va. — The chief of naval operations (CNO) is pushing to accelerate the development of the Navy’s next-generation ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) so that it is ready to deploy “as quickly as possible.” He also is pushing the more rapid…
Coast Guard Commandant ‘Guardedly Optimistic’ for Icebreaker Funding in 2019
ARLINGTON, Va. — Funding for the Coast Guard’s requirement for new icebreakers in fiscal 2019 is in peril but the Coast Guard remains confident that a conference between the House and Senate will allow the service to begin procurement. “We’re…
Search Continues for Marines Missing After Air Collision
ARLINGTON, Va. — The search continues for five Marines whose KC-130 Hercules transport/refueling aircraft collided Dec. 6 with a Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet strike fighter over the Pacific Ocean. The two Marines in the F/A-18D apparently ejected; one was rescued…
Navy Must Be ‘Agile’ but ‘Sustainable’ in the Arctic
WASHINGTON — Sustainability is the key issue for U.S. naval operations in the Arctic, a Navy official said. “The Navy has to be agile [in its Arctic operations],” Jeffrey Barker, a deputy branch head for Policy and Posture in the…
First Heliborne AOEW Pod for Navy Expected in Late 2019
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin expects to produce the first engineering development model (EDM) of a heliborne electronic warfare pod by late 2019, a company official said. Orders for materials for the ALQ-218 Advanced Offboard Electronic Warfare (AOEW) pods began last…
