ASNE Archives - Maritime Shipping News

NAVSEA: Navy ‘Struggling’ to Get Attack Subs Out of Repairs on Time as Demand Increases

21 September 2022

USS Jefferson City (SSN-759) departs Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Dec. 8, 2021, as it heads to Naval Station Guam for a homeport shift. US Navy Photo

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Less than a third of the Navy’s attack submarines have made it out of maintenance on time in the last decade as demand for the boats remain high, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command said on Wednesday.

“We’re really struggling to get submarines out on time. Over the last ten years, 20 to 30 percent [came] out on time,” said...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/21/navsea-navy-struggling-to-get-attack-subs-out-of-repairs-on-time-as-demand-increases

Chinese Fleet Expansion Pushing U.S. Navy to Catch Up on Maintenance as Backlogs Persist

21 September 2022

USS Preble (DDG-88) and USS Russell (DDG-59) in maintenance on Feb. 15, 2022 in San Diego, Calif. USNI News Photo

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The rapid expansion in size of the People’s Liberation Army Navy is at the forefront of the maintainers working to reduce the U.S. fleet’s maintenance backlog, senior enlisted leaders said on Tuesday.

“When we talk about maintenance with our leaders, peer competitors are the first thing that comes out of their mouth,” Naval Sea Systems Command Command Master...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/20/chinese-fleet-expansion-pushing-u-s-navy-to-catch-up-on-maintenance-as-backlogs-persist

Navy, Lawmaker Split Over Timeline to Renovate Public Repair Yards

15 February 2021

Terrance Wells, from San Diego, ties straps for a containment project on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Oct. 26, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy faces a conundrum in renovating its centuries-old public shipyards.

On one hand, the sooner the yards are redesigned with more efficient layouts and overhauled to have the latest tools and machines, the sooner yard employees can start repairing submarines and aircraft carriers at a faster pace and dig...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/15/navy-lawmaker-split-over-timeline-to-renovate-public-repair-yards

U.S. Admiral Talks 3rd Chinese Aircraft Carrier: ‘Go Ahead and Build that Big Ship’

17 September 2020

Chinese carrier Shandong. PLA Photo

China’s pursuit of more aircraft carriers validates the U.S. Navy’s commitment to building more American aircraft carriers in the future, the U.S. admiral in charge of providing forces to the fleet said on Thursday.

“Good on ‘em. It makes the argument that carriers are important,” Adm. Chris Grady, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, said on Thursday. “We have them. They want them and they’re building them.”

Grady was responding to reports based off a new analysis...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/17/u-s-admiral-talks-3rd-chinese-aircraft-carrier-go-ahead-and-build-that-big-ship

Navy Expects Widespread COVID-19 Testing in Shipyards Later This Year

16 September 2020

Norfolk Naval Shipyard workers prepare to install a 2400-pound pilgrim nut on a propeller of the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) on Feb. 12, 2020. George H.W. Bush is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard for its Docking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA). US Navy photo.

While capacity at the Navy’s shipyards has nearly returned to pre-COVID-19 rates, the service does not expect to have widespread testing available for workers until later this year.

Speaking at a virtual...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/16/navy-expects-widespread-covid-19-testing-in-shipyards-later-this-year

Navy: Next Large Surface Combatant Will Look A Lot Like Zumwalt

19 June 2019

Destroyer Zumwalt (DDG-1000) transits the Atlantic Ocean during acceptance trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy’s next large surface combatant will probably look more like the futuristic Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers than fleet’s current workhorse class of Arleigh Burke destroyers, the program executive officer said.

Navy and industry designers are talking about increased payloads, increased computing and increased...

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/19/navy-next-large-surface-combatant-will-look-a-lot-like-zumwalt

Navy Mulling How to Make Surface Fleet Flexible, Lethal

19 June 2019

USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) and USS Carney (DDG-64) are moored abreast in Faslane, Scotland on May 7, 2019. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of senior Navy civilian officials said the planning efforts for the future combat fleet was focused on making the fleet more flexible, interoperable and lethal.

There also is an emphasis on open architecture to make it easier, quicker and cheaper to upgrade combat systems, they said. Those priorities would reduce the cost of sustaining the fleet going...

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/19/navy-mulling-how-to-make-surface-fleet-flexible-lethal