WASHINGTON — The congressional push for reinstatement of a second Virginia-class submarine in the 2021 defense budget has attracted the support of 112 congressmen. A letter from three congressmen on the Seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee — sent to the House Appropriations Committee…
Esper Orders Navy to Ready Hospital Ships to Take Pressure Off U.S. Hospitals
ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of defense said March 18 that he has ordered the U.S. Navy to prepare its two hospital ships for activation to take pressure off the nation’s hospitals battling the COVID-19 virus pandemic. At a Pentagon news conference, Secretary Mark T. Esper referred…
Coast Guard Cutter Alert Returns After Counter-Drug Patrol, International Exercise
ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard Cutter Alert returned home to Astoria on March 15 following a 69-day eastern Pacific Ocean counter-drug deployment, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. The crew patrolled international waters off the coast…
USS Delbert D. Black Completes Acceptance Trials
Pascagoula, Miss. — The future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 19) completed acceptance trials on March 12, returning to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding Division after spending two days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico. During acceptance trials, the ship’s…
HELIOS Laser Weapon Takes Step Toward Ship Integration
MOORESTOWN, N.J. — Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy moved one step closer to integrating a laser weapon system onto an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after successfully conducting a critical design review (CDR) for the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system, the company said in…
CNO Calls Unmanned MQ-4C Triton ‘Game-Changing’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s top officer said the high-altitude, high-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is providing support to the fleet on its first deployment that was not available before. “We’re still committed to the [MQ-4C Triton],” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said, responding to…
Navy Assumes ‘Balanced’ Risk of Strike Fighter Inventory with Super Hornet Curtailment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is working to manage its strike fighter inventory by focusing on restoring grounded fighters while curtailing future procurement of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet after 2021, Navy officials said. The Navy is requesting 24 Super Hornets in the fiscal…
Keel-Laying of Coast Guard’s First OPC Set for April
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard plans to celebrate the keel-laying of the first Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC) next month in Panama City, Florida. Testifying March 10 before the House Homeland Security Committee, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L. Schultz said the keel of…
Navy Secretary to Commission Future Carrier 2030 Task Force
WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly announced that he is commissioning a Blue-Ribbon Future Carrier 2030 (FC-2030) Task Force to conduct a six-month study that will reimagine the future of the aircraft carrier and carrier-based naval aviation (manned and unmanned) for 2030 and beyond. FC-2030 will be…
Wittman: DDGs Still Needed as Cruisers Retire; Go Slow on USVs
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy still needs a large fleet of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) to replace the guided-missile cruisers (CGs) being retired, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) said. Speaking March 9 at the Hudson Institute, a Washington…
