ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper has directed that U.S. military personnel assignments in some Middle East countries be unaccompanied, with families now in place ordered gradually withdrawn by 2022. The Pentagon policy, however, does not affect U.S. Navy crews forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, a Navy official said. In a June 2 announcement, Esper directed…
DOD Names Seven Installations as Sites for Second Round of 5G Testing
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department has named seven U.S. military installations as the latest sites where it will conduct 5G communications technology experimentation and testing, the department said in a release. The installations are Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,…
Launch, Recovery Systems Achieve Another Milestone Aboard Gerald R. Ford
SAN DIEGO — More than 3,000 catapult launches and landings using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) have been completed aboard USS Gerald R. Ford, said the systems’ manufacturer, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS). The milestone is significant for the carrier and its crew, as the Navy…
Sea Service Leaders Post Messages on Unrest Across United States
WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday recorded a video message on June 2 to Sailors regarding the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting unrest across the country. The Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck was charged on June 3…
Boeing Delivers First Super Hornet Blue Angel Test Jet to Navy
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Boeing has delivered the first Super Hornet test aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel flight demonstration squadron, the company said in a June 3 release. The unpainted aircraft now enters the flight test and evaluation phase…
Navy’s Advanced Aerial Sensor Deployed on P-8As to Western Pacific
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s Advanced Aerial Sensor (AAS) has been deployed to the western Pacific, according to a release from the squadron that deployed the AAS on its P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft. Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45), based out of Naval Air…
Babcock Awarded Missile Tube Contract Extension by Electric Boat
LONDON — Babcock International has been awarded a multimillion-pound contract extension to manufacture a further 18 tactical Missile Tube Assemblies (MTAs) for General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), Babcock said in a June 2 release. It is part of the Common…
SAIC to Test Heavyweight, Lightweight Torpedoes for Navy
RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy awarded SAIC Corp. a contract worth about $60 million to continue providing mission engineering support by testing heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes for Naval Sea Systems Command, SAIC said in a release. In support of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC),…
Cutter Confidence Seizes 1,090 Pounds of Cocaine From Smuggling Vessel
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Coast Guard cutter in mid-May seized about 1,090 pounds of suspected cocaine with an estimated value of $18.7 million from a go-fast vessel in international waters of the Pacific Ocean off Central America, the Coast Guard 7th District said…
Navy Announces New Flag Officer Assignments
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy secretary and chief of naval operations on June 2 announced these assignments: Rear Adm. James S. Bynum is serving as director, warfare development, N72, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Bynum was director, Assessment Division, N81, Office of the Chief of…
