The U.S. Navy is seeking to shave $1.4 billion from the Marine Corps fiscal year 2021 budget request and to reduce the active-duty force by 2,100, according to new Defense Department budget documents. The Marines’ piece of the Navy Department’s…
Navy 2021 Budget Relatively Flat; Only 8 Ships Funded, Ship Retirements Accelerated
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S Navy’s 2021 budget seeks funding for only eight battle force ships, financed by $19.9 billion of a $207.1 billion Department of the Navy budget that is only slightly larger than the $205.2 billion budget enacted for fiscal 2020. The Future Years Defense Plan also forecasts some accelerated retirements or reductions…
First Navy V-22 arrives in Patuxent River
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The first U.S. Navy CMV-22B Osprey arrived at Patuxent River on Feb. 2 after completing its ferry flight from Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in Texas, Naval Air Systems Command said. This is the first of two CMV-22B…
Navy Orders Two MQ-4C Triton UAVs Plus Operating Base
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered another two MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles from Northrop Grumman Corp. According to a Feb. 6 Defense Department contract announcement, Naval Air Systems Command awarded a $172.4 million contract modification for the two…
Laser-Guided Excalibur S Munition Aces Navy Test
YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — Raytheon’s new Excalibur S precision-guided munition scored direct hits on moving targets in a U.S. Navy test, the company said in a Feb. 5 release. Testing validated the projectile’s ability to survive the shock and…
Senator Introduces Legislation to Boost Shipbuilding Toward 355-Vessel Fleet
WASHINGTON — Roger Wicker, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Feb. 6 introduced the Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Implementation Act, according to his office. The legislation follows the Mississippi Republican’s 2017 SHIPS Act, which was signed by President Trump, making it U.S. policy to reach a 355-ship…
Littoral Combat Ship St. Louis Delivered to Navy
MARINETTE, Wis. — Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine delivered the future USS St. Louis, littoral combat ship No. 19, to the U.S. Navy, according to a Feb. 6 Lockheed Martin release. “With LCS 19’s delivery, the U.S. Navy has 10 Freedom-variant littoral combat ships in the fleet,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed’s vice president…
Report Criticizes U.S. Defense Industrial Base; Cites Workforce Shrinkage, Intellectual Property Theft
ARLINGTON, Va. — The health and readiness of the U.S. defense industrial base, plagued by intellectual property theft and a shrunken workforce, rates a barely passing grade on a report card issued on Feb. 5 by the sector’s largest industry…
Coast Guard, U.K. Royal Navy Ships Seize $46.2 Million in Cocaine in the Caribbean
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Coast Guard, U.K. Royal Navy and U.S. law enforcement partners seized 3,086 pounds of cocaine and detained nine suspected drug smugglers following two separate interdictions in the Caribbean on Jan. 24 and Jan. 30, according to the Coast Guard 7th District. The seized drug shipments are estimated to…
U.S. 2nd Fleet Flexes Expeditionary Command and Control
WASHINGTON — The U.S. 2nd Fleet exercised its ability to operate expeditionary maritime operations centers in its run-up from initial to full operational capability, achieved in December, the fleet commander said. Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis, commander of the 2nd Fleet, who spoke here Feb. 4 at Maritime Security…
