Budget Industry

VIDEO: MQ-25A Stingray Prototype Makes First Flight With Aerial Refueling Stores

Boeing tested MQ-25A T1 prototype with a an aerial refueling store (ARS) on Dec. 9, 2020. Boeing Photo

Boeing’s prototype for its naval unmanned aerial tanker proved this week it can operate with the refueling system that will give gas to the carrier air wing, the company announced.

Taking off from the company’s test site at the MidAmerica Airport in Illinois near St. Louis, Mo., the MQ-25A Stingray prototype flew for two and a half hours with an aerial refueling store (ARS) slung under its wing.

“...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/video-mq-25a-stingray-prototype-makes-first-flight-with-aerial-refueling-stores

Marines Demonstrate Ability to Include Carrier-Based F-35Cs in Expeditionary Base Plans

U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct a new expeditionary landing demonstration with M-31 arresting gear Interim Flight Clearance (IFC), on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif., – The Marine Corps’ first carrier-capable F-35C Lightning II squadron demonstrated, for the first time, the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/marines-demonstrate-ability-to-include-carrier-based-f-35cs-in-expeditionary-base-plans

Marine Corps Awards Full-Rate Production Contract for Amphibious Combat Vehicle After Declaring IOC Last Month

An amphibious combat vehicle operates from USS Somerset (LPD-25). BAE Systems photo.

The Marine Corps’ amphibious combat vehicle is now in full-rate production after the service declared initial operational capability last month.

The Marines this week awarded BAE Systems a $184-million contract for 36 vehicles, the first FRP contract after the program had been in low-rate initial production since June 2018, when the Marine Corps selected BAE Systems as the ACV builder.

“As the ACV enters into...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/marine-corps-awards-full-rate-production-contract-for-amphibious-combat-vehicle-after-declaring-ioc-last-month

White House-led Navy Shipbuilding Plan Set to Will Push Boundaries of Pentagon Budgets, Industry Capacity

Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) on Oct. 21, 2020. US Navy Photo

According to the report, “maintaining our undersea advantage is a priority for the Navy. We are in the process of assuring the industrial base capability to continue delivering three SSNs per year past FY26 during Columbia serial production. The post-FYDP SSN profile will continue to be reviewed and updated in subsequent plans as the industrial base assessments are refined with the goal of...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/white-house-led-navy-shipbuilding-plan-set-to-will-push-boundaries-of-pentagon-budgets-industry-capacity

Makin Island ARG Operating in the South China Sea While Beijing Claims U.S. ‘Muscle Flexing’

Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8) underway in the eastern Pacific on April 20, 2020. US Navy Photo

Chinese reports accuse the U.S. of “muscle-flexing” after an American amphibious ready group quietly deployed to the South China Sea earlier this week.

USS Makin Island (LHD-8) and USS Somerset (LPD-25) entered the South China Sea on Sunday, according to Chinese state press reports, a Beijing-backed think tank that monitors U.S. military movements in the South China Sea, and publicly...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/09/makin-island-arg-operating-in-the-south-china-sea-while-beijing-claims-u-s-muscle-flexing

Panel Details Global Artificial Intelligence Arms Race

Harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies has become the new arms race among the great powers, a Hudson Institute panel on handling big data in military operations said Monday.

Speaking at the online forum, Richard Schultz, director of the international security program in the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said, “that’s the way [Russian President Vladimir] Putin looks at it. I don’t think we have a choice” but to view it the same way.

He added in answer to a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/09/panel-details-global-artificial-intelligence-arms-race

President Macron Announces Start of New French Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Program

An artist’s impression of PANG (Porte Avion Nouvelle Generation, or next-generation aircraft carrier).

French President Emmanuel Macron today officially green-lighted the construction of a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as part of the PANG program. The future flagship of the French Navy is intended to replace the existing FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) aircraft carrier around 2038.

The announcement was made during Macron’s visit to French nuclear power company Framatome, which designs and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/08/president-macron-announces-start-of-new-french-nuclear-aircraft-carrier-program

HASC Chairman Smith: House Will Return For Override Vote If Trump Vetoes NDAA

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, is briefed on the capabilities of the F-35A Lightning II during his visit at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2019. The congressman learned about several aspects of the 56th Fighter Wing F-35 pilot training and how the wing works to enhance lethality and readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jensen Stidham)

House lawmakers will return to Washington, D.C. for an override vote should President Donald Trump veto the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/07/hasc-chairman-smith-house-will-return-for-override-vote-if-trump-vetoes-ndaa

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Dec. 7, 2020

USNI News Graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Dec. 7, 2020, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:296Ships Underway

Deployed Ships UnderwayNon-deployed Ships UnderwayTotal Ships Underway
522880

Ships Deployed by Fleet

3rd Fleet4th...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/07/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-dec-7-2020

CJCS Milley: Character of War in Midst of Fundamental Change

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks in a virtual meeting during a U.S. Naval War College Advanced Flag and Executive Course (AFLEX) at the Pentagon on Oct. 26, 2020. DoD Photo

The world is in the midst of a fundamental change in the character of warfare as a variety of nations begin to field directed energy, hypersonics and autonomous systems, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.

“I would argue that today [we] are in the middle of a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/04/cjcs-milley-character-of-war-in-midst-of-fundamental-change

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