Amphibious Warship ‘Strategic Pause’ Ongoing Despite Small Business Solicitation

Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo

Construction of new U.S. amphibious warships is still on pause despite a small business solicitation indicating the Navy was preparing to enter a multi-year deal for San Antonio-class ships, USNI News has learned.

Last week, contract portal SAM.gov posted a long lead contract that indicated the Navy was moving ahead with a multi-year contract with HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding to build three Flight II San Antonios.

“T...

https://news.usni.org/2023/08/07/amphibious-warship-strategic-pause-ongoing-despite-small-business-solicitation

Navy Raises Battle Force Goal to 381 Ships in Classified Report to Congress

Guided-missile destroyer Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. (DDG-124) in dry dock at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in June 2023. BIW Photo

The Navy is now more than 80 ships short of the latest estimate of what the sea service thinks it needs to fulfill the Biden administration’s national security strategy.

The Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement, a congressionally-mandated report, requires 381 ships, up from 373 in the 2022 report, the first year it was released. As of Monday, the Navy’s battle...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/18/navy-raises-battle-force-goal-to-381-ships-in-classified-report-to-congress

CMC Berger to Senate: ‘There’s No Plan’ to Meet Amphib Warship Requirements

Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo

The Marine Corps’ top officer told a Senate panel that he put a $1.75 billion warship on the top of his unfunded priorities list to show there’s no path to expand the U.S. amphibious ship inventory.

Speaking before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee on Tuesday, Commandant Gen. David Berger said he saw a net reduction in the amphibious ship force because of the retirement of three older landing ship...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/28/cmc-berger-to-senate-theres-no-plan-to-meet-amphib-warship-requirements

SECNAV Del Toro ‘Excited’ About New Landing Ship Mediums

ARLINGTON, Va. – Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the Navy and Marines have “got to get the right concept … and design” to move forward with the new Landing Ship Mediums – the vessels projected to augment larger amphibious vessels.

Investing in the new ships did not mean the Navy was pulling back its commitment to larger amphibious warships, Del Toro said Wednesday, speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association Expeditionary Warfare Conference.

There will “probably be more LPDs...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/22/secnav-del-toro-excited-about-new-landing-ship-mediums

Marine Corps Needs Infrastructure Investment, Improved Technology to Ensure Readiness

U.S. Marines prepare their Rifle Combat Optics before they enter Hathcock Range on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Jan. 30, 2023. U.S. Marine Corps Photo

SAN DIEGO – A military installation’s sewer lines and electrical grids are critical to a unit’s combat readiness, meaning bases and stations must prepare to grapple with outages, breaks, attacks and other threats to critical infrastructure, a Marine Corps installation commander said last week.

“The sustainment of facilities – things that...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/20/marine-corps-needs-infrastructure-investment-improved-technology-to-ensure-readiness

Marine Corps Requirements Call for 9 Light Amphibious Ships per Regiment

SAN DIEGO – The Marine Corps’ latest requirements call for nine smaller amphibious ships per regiment to shuttle Marines and equipment between islands and shorelines, service officials said today.

The service has said for months that it needs 35 Landing Ship Mediums – previously known as the Light Amphibious Warship – for the type of operations it envisions in the Indo-Pacific region. The idea is that the three Marine Littoral Regiments operating in the Indo-Pacific would each have nine LSMs,...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/14/marine-corps-requirements-call-for-9-light-amphibious-ships-per-regiment

Senators Call on SECNAV to Deliver Amphibious Ship Requirements Study to Congress

Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo

Two lawmakers overseeing the Navy are calling on the service’s secretary to deliver an overdue study about its amphibious fleet.

In a letter sent on Monday to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) asked for an update on the amphibious ship requirements study.

“During your annual force posture hearing in May, we asked about the status of a study you commissioned to...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/15/senators-call-on-secnav-to-deliver-amphibious-ship-requirements-study-to-congress

New Navy Fleet Study Calls for 373 Ship Battle Force, Details are Classified

Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), left, conducts a replenishment-at-sea with Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), in the Ionian Sea on May 6, 2022. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy quietly slipped a new, classified assessment on the number of ships the service needs to meet its missions around the world to Congress earlier this month. The report calls for a battle force of 373 ships – 75 more than in the current fleet.

Dubbed the...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/19/new-navy-fleet-study-calls-for-373-ship-battle-force-details-are-classified

CNO Gilday: ‘We Need a Naval Force of Over 500 Ships’

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111), left, USS America (LHA-6), and Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), transit the Philippine Sea on Jan. 22, 2022. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The U.S. Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 ships to meet its commitments to the soon-to-be released National Defense Strategy, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on Friday. 

“I’ve concluded – consistent with the analysis – that we need a naval force...

https://news.usni.org/2022/02/18/cno-gilday-we-need-a-naval-force-of-over-500-ships

Proposed COVID-19 Relief Package Includes $2.2B for Shipbuilding, 4 Hospital Ships

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

Republican senators want to include $2.2 billion for Navy shipbuilding in the latest round of relief funds meant to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the text of the bill, lawmakers would allot $1.45 billion of that money so the service could buy four “expeditionary medical ships.”

The proposed funds for medical vessels come after the Navy dispatched its two hospital ships, USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), earlier this...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/28/gop-covid-19-relief-package-includes-2-2b-for-shipbuilding-4-hospital-ships

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