Despite some improvements in combat readiness, the U.S. military has “marginal” overall capability to meet the increasing global security challenges it faces because all four of the armed services are too small and much of their major combat systems are too old, according to the latest of the annual assessment by the Heritage Foundation. 

The Navy and the Marine Corps share that overall rating of “marginal,” with both assessed as “weak” in capacity, which translates into force size, and “marginal” in capability and readiness, even though both of the naval services have focused on improving readiness, the 2020 Index of U.S. Military Strength, released by Heritage on Oct. 30, said. 

Although Army readiness is rated as “very strong” due to a major increase in the number of its brigade combat teams that are considered combat ready, it also gets an over score of “marginal” because its capacity is rated as “weak” and capability as “marginal.” The Air Force is rated as “marginal in all three of the categories and overall. 

The ratings for the four services are little changed from last year’s index and come in the face of the index’s finding of an overall threat to U.S. vital interests of “high” from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and global terrorism. Heritage rates the behavior of Russia and China as “aggressive” and their capability as “formidable.” 

Because of the overall weakness of the services, Heritage said the military “is likely capable of meeting the demands of a single major regional conflict … while also attending to various presence and engagement activities, but that it would be very hard pressed to do more and certainly would be ill equipped to handle two nearly simultaneous major regional contingencies.” 

As it has in the past, Heritage faults the four services, the Defense Department and Congress for the lack of funding and direction to substantially increased the size of the military and to modernize its equipment, which are the oldest on average since before World War II. Force size is a major criteria for Heritage in its ratings. 

 For example, it says the Navy needs a battle fleet of 400 ships, while the Navy’s current battle force is 290 ships and its long-term goal is 355. The key shortfalls Heritage cites, compared to its recommendations, are two aircraft carriers, 16 large surface combatants, 41 small surface combatants, 16 attack submarines, 13 amphibious warships and 25 combat logistics ships. It also finds naval air far short of the desired size. 

For the Marine Corps, Heritage believes it needs 36 infantry battalions, while it has only 24. Both the previous and current Marine Corps commandants have said they need to reduce the infantry to add capabilities in information warfare and cyber. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries announced the successful completion of acceptance trials aboard the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) in an Oct. 30 release. The second ship in the America class spent three days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico with the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey, performing test procedures that included a full power run of the main propulsion system. 

“The success of these trials is the culmination of the hard work and determination from our shipbuilders and leadership team. We have worked closely with our Navy partners to ensure that LHA 7 will provide unparalleled sea basing capabilities for the Navy’s amphibious ready groups and the Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Forces,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. 

Huntington Ingalls is the sole builder of large-deck amphibious warships for the Navy. The shipyard delivered its first amphibious assault ship, the Iwo Jima-class USS Tripoli (LPH 10), in 1966. Ingalls has since built five Tarawa-class ships, eight Wasp-class ships and the first in a new class of ships, USS America (LHA 6). The third ship in the America class, Bougainville (LHA 8), is under construction at the shipyard and will be the 16th large-deck amphibious ship built at Ingalls. 

“The LHA team at Ingalls is truly unmatched in their dedication to making these state-of-the-art warships for the Navy,” said George S. Jones, Ingalls’ vice president of operations. “That dedication really showed during this trial. Our shipbuilders, test and trials team and our partners at Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Gulf Coast take great pride in the work they do every day and I know they are ready to finish the job strong.” 

Like the lead ship in the class, Tripoli is designed for survivability with increased aviation capacity, including an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity. Like its predecessors, the ship will be able to operate as the flagship for an expeditionary strike group. 

Tripoli will be the third ship to bear the name that commemorates the capture of Derna in 1805 by a small force of Marines and about 370 soldiers from 11 other nations. The battle, memorialized in the Marines’ Hymn with the line “to the shores of Tripoli,” brought about a successful conclusion to the combined operations of the First Barbary War.

WASHINGTON — The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is back in its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, after successful completion on Oct. 30 of its post-shakedown availability/selected restricted availability, Program Executive Office (PEO) Aircraft Carriers announced. 

Completion of the availability marks a significant milestone for the Ford, the first ship in a next-generation class that will serve for 50 years as a centerpiece of U.S national defense. 

“This is a warship like none other, and the process of returning her to fleet service reflects the great technical skill, professionalism and tenacity of the government/industry team,” said Rear Adm. James Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers. 

A PSA is a typical period of construction availability in the early life of a ship during which the Navy and shipbuilder resolve issues that arise in initial at-sea periods and make any needed changes and upgrades. 

CVN 78’s PSA began on July 15, 2018, and included work on Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWEs), repairs to the ship’s main reduction gear, improvements to the throttle control system, upgrades to the advanced arresting gear and numerous other maintenance tasks. 

During the PSA, most discrepancies — known as “trial cards” — that had been identified during previous workups were addressed, with few remaining to address in future maintenance availabilities. As a first-of-class ship, such discrepancies are not unexpected, and the U.S. Navy is incorporating lessons learned from CVN 78 to inform design and actively improve oversight of future ships of the class. 

The program manager for USS Gerald R. Ford, Capt. Ron Rutan, acknowledged that unique challenges accompany technological advances. 

“The design and execution challenge in delivering a first-of-class warfighting platform is not only to make CVN 78 better, but also to enhance production on the next ships in the class — the future USS John F. Kennedy and future USS Enterprise,” Rutan said. 

The Gerald R. Ford class incorporates 23 new technologies with advances in propulsion, power generation, ordnance handling and aircraft launch systems. These innovations will support a 30% higher sortie generation rate, executed with a 20% reduction in crew compared to Nimitz-class carriers. The Gerald R. Ford-class carrier offers a 17% reduction — about $4 billion per ship — in life-cycle operations and support costs compared to the Nimitz class. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The future John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) marked another milestone leading up to the christening of the second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier as Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) flooded the ship’s dry dock on Oct. 29. 

The John F. Kennedy has been under construction at NNS in Newport News since 2015 and continues to prepare for its christening, which is scheduled for Dec. 7.  

The JFK’s launching occurred about three months early, according to the original schedule for the carrier. Other milestones had been reached leading up to the dry dock flooding, including laying of the ship’s keel on Aug. 22, 2015, and placement of the 588-metric-ton island superstructure on May 29. 

Capt. Todd Marzano, JFK’s commanding officer, and its crew participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 1 to officially establish the crew and designate the building where the Sailors will work during the carrier’s continued construction. 

Ensign Cheyenne Scarbrough, a John F. Kennedy crew member from San Francisco, brings a plethora of skillsets and experience to include the honor of being a double plank owner. 

“Being assigned to the future John F. Kennedy allows me another chance to start from ground zero, streamline processes and bring the ship to life,” said Scarbrough, who has served 17 years in the U.S. Navy and received her commission in March. Scarbrough has served on USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). 

While Scarbrough brings experience on both Nimitz and Ford-classes of aircraft carriers, Senior Chief Logistics Specialist David Adkins brings his experience serving on board the first USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). 

“I embarked on board USS John F. Kennedy while assigned to VFA-81 in 2004,” said Adkins, an 18-year veteran from Jacksonville, Florida. “For me being part of ship’s company now is definitely a point in my career where I have gone full circle.” 

Marzano, who served on board USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while it underwent maintenance at NNS as future John F. Kennedy’s keel was laid, emphasized his perspective in leading his crew throughout the ship’s construction.  

“CVN 79 has come a long way since I first observed initial construction in the dry dock back in 2015 following the keel laying,” Marzano said. “At that point I had no idea I’d be fortunate enough to be the ship’s first commanding officer, and I’m incredibly honored, humbled and excited to be given the opportunity to lead such an amazing team of high-quality crew members.”

YOKOSUKA, Japan — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain completed its necessary repairs and is underway to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing, according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet release. 

The ship underwent repairs and extensive and accelerated upgrades over the last two years following an August 2017 collision with a tanker ship off the coast of Singapore that left 10 of the McCain’s crew dead and another five injured. 

During the at-sea testing, the ship and her crew will perform a series of demonstrations to evaluate the ship’s onboard systems. Among the systems that will be tested are navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical systems, combat systems, communications and propulsion application.  

USS John S. McCain, assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 (DS 15) and forward-deployed to Yokosuka, completed her in-port phase of training and will continue at-sea training in the upcoming months to certify in every mission area the ship is required to perform and prepare for return to normal operations. 

“The USS John S. McCain embodies the absolute fighting spirit of her namesakes and shows the resiliency of our Sailors. She has completed her maintenance period with the most up-to-date multimission offensive and defensive capabilities, preparing her to successfully execute a multitude of high-end operations,” said Capt. Steven DeMoss, commander of DS 15. 

“This whole crew is eager to get back to sea, and that’s evident in the efforts they’ve made over the last two years to bring the ship back to fighting shape and the energy they’ve put into preparing themselves for the rigors of at-sea operations,” said Cmdr. Ryan T. Easterday, USS John S. McCain’s commanding officer.

BURNS HARBOR, Ind. — The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest littoral combat ship, USS Indianapolis, on Oct. 26 at Burns Harbor. 

“To the citizens of the great state of Indiana who have joined us here today, thank you so much for enduring the weather to show your support for the men and women of America’s military and this fantastic new addition to the fleet,” said Lisa W. Hershman, the Pentagon’s deputy chief management officer and the ceremony’s main speaker. “It is always a thrill to see a Navy ship commissioned, but it is truly a historic moment to do so on the shores of Lake Michigan.” 

As part of the ceremony, Dick Thelen, a survivor from that incident, handed the long glass telescope to Lt. Julian Turner, navigator of the first watch. 

“Now, a combat-ready ship is necessary but not sufficient for our Navy to fight and win decisively in combat,” said Adm. Christopher W. Grady, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. 

“To fight and win, you, the Hoosier Sailors of Indianapolis, must join as one and become a battle-minded crew. You must waste no time in preparing yourself to function as a team-of-teams, masterfully exercising your ship to the very extent of its limits. Only through the combination of this combat-ready ship and you, its battle-minded crew, both blue and gold, can Indianapolis carry on the proud legacy of your predecessors.” 

The Oct. 26 ceremony honored veterans of USS Indianapolis, a World War II cruiser that was torpedoed and sunk in the final days of the war after completing a secret mission to deliver components of the atomic bomb that later would be dropped on Hiroshima. Much of the crew of the Indianapolis who awaited rescue in the water after the sinking were lost due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks. 

The ship’s motto, “Legacy of War,” reflects that ships named Indianapolis have served in both world wars and the Cold War. LCS 17 is the fourth ship to bear the name of the state capital and most populous city of Indiana. 

“I feel honored to represent the ship’s namesake and the history that goes with that. Our crew has put in a tremendous amount of work preparing the USS Indianapolis,” Lt. j.g. Eric Wilkerson said. “There is a lot of Navy pride here today. The support from earlier crews being here is a strong reminder of the commitment needed to defend our nation and maritime freedoms.” 

Jill Donnelly, the ship’s sponsor, gave the first order: “Man our ship and bring her to life!” More than 8,000 people, including Indiana residents and friends and family of the crew, attended the commissioning ceremony. 

“It was all-hands effort. We work together to get the ship up and ready to go. There is a lot of teamwork and everyone really does pull their weight to accomplish the mission,” Operations Specialist 1st Class Devin Morris said. “It’s a brand-new ship so everyone has to go through all the certifications to make sure we are mission ready.” 

Littoral combat ships are outfitted with mission packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare or surface warfare missions. The warship’s modular mission packages can be quickly and cost-effectively updated with new weapons and weapon systems without taking the ship out of service for modifications and modernizations. 

USS Indianapolis will be homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. 

NASHUA, New Hampshire — BAE Systems has been awarded a $36.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy to develop and demonstrate a next-generation, dual band fiber-optic towed decoy (FOTD) to protect aircraft and pilots from advanced threats, the company said in a release. 

BAE Systems’ FOTDs are radio-frequency countermeasure systems that provide robust self-protection capabilities for any aircraft, including fighters, bombers and transports. The company’s dual band decoy development work is intended to expand the capabilities of its combat-proven AN/ALE-55 FOTD. 

“Our towed decoys enable pilots to execute missions in highly contested airspace,” said Tom McCarthy, dual band decoy program director at BAE Systems. “ALE-55 FOTD is a reliable, high-powered jamming system with years of mission success on the F/A-18E/F [Super Hornet] and extensive flight-testing on a variety of aircraft. Under this new Dual Band Decoy contract, our focus will be building upon the ALE-55’s proven performance in order to defeat the threats of tomorrow.” 

The primary role of the decoy is to protect the warfighter by luring threat missiles away from the aircraft. The decoy also combines techniques that disrupt adversaries’ radar, preventing missile launch from occurring. Much like the ALE-55 FOTD, the dual band decoy will interface with onboard electronic warfare equipment, but it can also operate independently, enhancing its effectiveness against current and future threats.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford got underway Oct. 25 for sea trials from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division following a 15-month pierside maintenance period. 

“I am proud of the crew’s efforts to get USS Gerald R. Ford back out to sea,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “The Navy has diligently tackled issues associated with this first-in-class ship and will continue to do so. All are eager to demonstrate Ford’s capacity to deliver combat power. There is more work to do, but this is a great milestone.” 

Prior to getting underway, the Ford conducted a multiday, pierside “fast cruise,” where the crew worked through simulated at-sea operating scenarios. Gerald R. Ford then departed NNS and headed into the Atlantic Ocean for sea trials, putting into practice lessons learned from the fast cruise and starting a critical phase of underway testing. 

While at sea off the Virginia coast, the crew, in cooperation with NNS engineers and shipyard employees, will run through a comprehensive sequence of evolutions to test and validate systems maintained or modified during the extended maintenance period, known as a post-shakedown availability (PSA).  

The PSA included combat systems installations, throttle control system improvements, propulsion train component repairs and corrections to discrepancies identified during prior testing and completion of 304 berthing spaces. The Huntington Ingalls NNS team also completed construction of four advanced weapon elevators (AWE), upgraded advanced arresting gear (AAG) water twisters and fully outfitted all galley spaces.  

“After a challenging post-shakedown availability at Newport News Shipbuilding, the crew is excited to turn their hardhats in and get Warship 78 back out to sea,” said Capt. J.J. Cummings, Ford’s commanding officer. 

“I am extremely proud of our Sailors and the remarkable work ethic they have demonstrated over the last 15 months. It is their energy, enthusiasm and grit that has gotten our ship to this point, and it will be their motivation and resiliency that will fuel our success during post-delivery test and trial.” 

Sea trials are the culminating event prior the Ford returning to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. The carrier will then enter a post-delivery test and trials period to certify fuel systems, conduct aircraft compatibility testing, certify the flight deck and test the combat systems installed aboard the ship. 

As a first-in-class ship, the Navy is actively incorporating lessons learned from the Ford to improve the design and construction processes of future ships in the class. 

WASHINGTON — The secretary of the U.S. Navy said the sea service is looking ahead to determine what the follow-on aircraft carrier design will look like, even as work continues to get the new USS Gerald R. Ford out to regular operations at sea. 

“With the [recent] two-carrier buy, what will the next carrier look like? We’re having discussions on that as we speak, and we will see what happens,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said, speaking Oct. 23 at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “I think we actually whiteboard this thing. What will it look like in 10 to 15 years? Is it a floating platform for electrically charged unmanned aircraft? I don’t know.”  

Spencer said the Navy is looking at the “lightning carrier” concept, deploying 20 F-35B Lightning II strike fighters on an amphibious assault ship. Recently the USS America operated in the eastern Pacific Ocean with 13 F-35Bs of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122, the Corps’ most recently equipped F-35B squadron. Earlier this year, USS Wasp operated for a short period with 10 F-35Bs of VMFA-121 on board.  

“My cost performance there is tremendous,” Spencer said. “Does it have the same punch? No, it doesn’t. But it has a very interesting sting to it.” 

Such lightning carriers would lack airborne early warning aircraft unless the Navy developed a capability for these smaller decks. The sea service is developing an aerial refueling tanker capability to be installed in the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to refuel the F-35Bs. 

During the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan operated as a “Harrier carrier,” equipped with two full squadrons of AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft, which the F-35B is replacing, rather than the usual six aircraft. 

The concept might get a serious workout in a couple of years.   

“In 2021, you will see a Marine Corps F-35B squadron on the Queen Elizabeth, which we are very excited about,” Spencer said, speaking of the plan to operate a Marine Corps F-35B squadron alongside a British F-35B squadron on the new Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, USS Indianapolis, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony on Oct. 26 in Burns Harbor, Indiana, the Defense Department said in a release. 

The future USS Indianapolis, designated LCS 17, honors Indiana’s state capital and largest city. It will be the fourth ship to bear the name. 

Lisa W. Hershman will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Jill Donnelly, wife of former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, is the ship’s sponsor. She will continue the time-honored Navy tradition of giving the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!” 

“This Freedom-variant littoral combat ship will continue the proud legacy created by ships previously bearing the name Indianapolis,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “The crew will carry on the tradition of service to confront the many challenges of today’s complex world. To the men and women who will ring in the first watch, you carry with you the fighting spirit of incredible bravery and sense of duty that is inherently recognized with the name Indianapolis.” 

The most recent Indianapolis was a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, which was commissioned in 1980 and served through the end of the Cold War before being decommissioned in 1998. The first Indianapolis was a steamer built for the U.S. Shipping Board (USSB) and commissioned directly into the Navy in 1918. After two runs to Europe, the ship was returned to the USSB following World War I. 

It is the second Indianapolis, a Portland-class heavy cruiser, that is perhaps the best known of the three. Commissioned in 1931, its service ended when the ship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo minutes after midnight on July 30, 1945. Only 317 of the ship’s 1,196 Sailors survived after five days afloat in the Pacific. 

But it was the ship’s impressive war record that first brought it to the attention of Navy leaders and Americans. The ship saw action in the Aleutians, the Gilbert Islands, Saipan, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In addition to frequently serving as the flagship of the U.S. 5th Fleet, the ship earned 10 battle stars for World War II service. Before it was sunk, Indianapolis successfully completed the top-secret mission to deliver components of the nuclear bomb “Little Boy” to Tinian that ushered in the end of WWII with the use of the bomb at Hiroshima. 

The future USS Indianapolis, a Freedom-variant LCS, is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments as well as open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. 

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare (SUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine countermeasures (MCM) missions in the littoral region. 

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).