Commandant Gen. David Berger

Navy Awards $1.3B to Ingalls Shipbuilding for LPD-32 Amphibious Warship

Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) launched in March 2021. HII Photo

The Navy has issued a $1.295 billion contract modification to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding for the detail design and construction of LPD-32, the last San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock under the service’s current budget plans.

The contract, announced Friday, follows a $240 million advanced procurement award issued to Ingalls last June for long-lead items.

“This program is strong and has enabled the Department of Navy and Ingalls to...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/31/navy-awards-1-3b-to-ingalls-shipbuilding-for-lpd-32-amphibious-warship

Project Overmatch Targeting R&D Tops Navy’s Fiscal Year 2024 Wishlist, $550M for Facility Overhauls

Operations Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Ezekiel, assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), identifies air contacts in the combat information center (CIC) on March 21, 2016. Monterey is underway conducting Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) with the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in preparation for a future deployment. US Navy photo.

If the Navy could ask for funds in Fiscal Year 2024, it would prioritize more infrastructure to target potential adversaries in support...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/24/project-overmatch-targeting-rd-tops-navys-fiscal-year-2024-wishlist-550m-for-facility-overhauls

$3.6B Marine Corps Wish List Again Asks for Stalled Amphibious Warship

Shipbuilder welding on the bow section of a future San Antonio-class amphibious warship at Ingalls Shipbuilding on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo

For the second year in a row, the Marine Corps is asking Congress for an amphibious warship the Navy doesn’t plan to buy.

At the top of the Marines’ Fiscal Year 2024 unfunded priorities list is $1.7 billion for LPD-33, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock that the Navy did not include in its five-year budget outlook released last week. While the...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/22/3-6b-marine-corps-wish-list-again-asks-for-stalled-amphibious-warship

Navy and Marine Corps Debate Amphibious Ship Costs as Clash Over LPD-17 Flight II Line Continues

The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed Huntington Ingalls Shipyard to conduct Acceptance Trials in the Gulf of Mexico. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy halted its pursuit of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock line because of the program’s growing costs and delays in the shipyard, the service’s top officer said Wednesday.
The pause to reassess the LPD-17 Flight II line started a year ago at the direction of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief of Naval...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/15/navy-and-marine-corps-debate-amphibious-ship-costs-as-clash-over-lpd-17-flight-ii-line-continues

Australia’s First Nuclear Submarine Could Be a Reality in 30 Years, Former PACOM Commander Testifies

Able Seaman Combat Systems Operator Benjamin Stewart participates in an Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise with a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine during Exercise ARC21 in 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo

Developing a nuclear-powered submarine with Australia could happen in 30 years if the United States commits to a tight timetable, retired Adm. Harry Harris told lawmakers Tuesday.

Harris, a former commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, called Australia the United States’ key ally...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/07/australias-first-nuclear-submarine-could-be-a-reality-in-30-years-former-pacom-commander-testifies

Marine Commandant Will Have More Say in Crafting Navy’s Amphibious Force as Part of New Defense Bill

Marines attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) wave to spectators as they arrive in Morehead City, N.C., aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD-24) on Oct. 10, 2022. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The commandant of the Marine Corps will have a direct say in both the requirements for the Navy’s amphibious ships and the force structure, according to provisions in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
One provision in the...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/07/marine-commandant-will-have-more-say-in-crafting-navys-amphibious-force-as-part-of-new-defense-bill

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

Marine Corps, Navy Remain Split Over Design, Number of Future Light Amphibious Warship, Divide Risks Stalling Program

Sea Transport Solutions Image

The Marine Corps and Navy remain at an impasse over the future of the Light Amphibious Warship, as skepticism about the program’s viability mounts due to the internal division, sources familiar with the program have told USNI News.

While the Marines remain committed to their plan for nearly three-dozen beachable ships that can ferry units between islands and shorelines in the Pacific, the Navy wants fewer. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday’s 2022 navigation...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/14/marine-corps-navy-remain-split-over-design-number-of-future-light-amphibious-warship-divide-risks-stalling-program

Senate FY 2023 Appropriations Bill Adds $4B to Navy Shipbuilding, Money for New Amphibs

The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed Huntington Ingalls Shipyard to conduct Acceptance Trials in the Gulf of Mexico. US Navy Photo

The Senate Appropriations Committee included advanced procurement dollars for two new amphibious warships as part of a $32 billion shipbuilding budget, according to the defense subcommittee’s Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bill released on Thursday.

The FY 2023 bill shipbuilding and conversion portion appropriates $250 million in advanced procurement for...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/28/senate-fy-2023-appropriations-bill-adds-4b-to-navy-shipbuilding-money-for-new-amphibs

Body of Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams Will Lie in State in U.S. Capitol

Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams, poses for a photo before the start of a Sunset Parade at the Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, a., Sept. 2 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the body of Medal of Honor recipient Herschel Woodrow “Woody” Williams will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

In making the announcement Sunday, Pelosi, (D-Calif.) and Schumer, (D-N.Y.) said the proceedings honoring Chief Warrant Officer 4 Williams...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/05/body-of-hershel-woody-williams-will-lie-in-state-in-u-s-capitol

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