CAPITOL HILL – Lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives released Fiscal Year 2020 defense spending plans this week, focusing on increasing the Pentagon’s technological superiority to near-peer competitors.
The Senate Armed Services Committee marked up and passed its FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which gives the authority to spend money on programs and activities. Separately, the House Appropriations Committee marked up its defense subcommittee’s FY 2020 defense...
Cmdr. Pavao Huldisch, head of the Air department aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), addresses sailors on the flight deck during a department quarters on Nov. 23, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy needs to retain close to 80 percent of its force each year if it hopes to meet staffing requirements of its growing fleet, the service’s personnel chief told lawmakers on Thursday.
The Navy is on track grow by 7,500 active duty personnel this year and by 5,000 sailors each year through Fiscal Year 2024,...
https://news.usni.org/2019/05/16/navy-must-retain-80-percent-of-sailors-annually-to-grow-fleet
An artist’s rendering of VT Halter Marine’s winning bid for the U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter. VT Halter Marine image used with permission
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Coast Guard’s next icebreaker is based on a German research vessel, features a unique Finnish propulsion design and is driven by American diesels, shipbuilder VT Halter Marine told USNI News on Tuesday.
Ron Baczkowski, the shipyard’s chief executive, outlined the Polar Security Cutter design the company is set to build in...
https://news.usni.org/2019/05/08/vt-halter-marine-details-coast-guard-icebreaker-bid
The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is hove-to in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, fast ice near the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station, Feb. 2, 2016. The U.S. Coast Guard is uniquely equipped and trained to operate in the austere and unforgiving Antarctic environment. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Grant DeVuyst)
VT Halter Marine Inc. has been awarded a $745M detailed design and construction contract for the Coast Guard’s next-generation heavy icebreaker, according to a...
https://news.usni.org/2019/04/23/vt-halter-marine-to-build-new-coast-guard-icebreaker
LCAC 100, Textron’s first-in-class Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), conducts its first on-water test outside of the company’s facility in Louisiana on April 10, 2018. Textron photo.
Before the Navy requests more money for Textron’s Ship-to-Shore Connector, company executives say they need to firm up contracts for the funds already earmarked for the program.
The Navy is requesting zero dollars for the Ship-to-Shore Connector program in Fiscal Year 2020, chief executive Scott Donnelly told analysts...
US Air Force photo illustration
CAPITOL HILL – Securing the vast data-sharing network used by the Department of the Navy and its industrial base will require a significant investment of time and expertise from the department, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Spencer told the House Armed Service Committee that Navy’s data continues to be vulnerable and securing it will require an ongoing partnership between the department and industry.
“One of the most...
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on April 4, 2019. US Coast Guard Photo
Unlike the other military services, the Coast Guard has not received budgetary relief to eliminate its maintenance backlog and keep cutters on patrol and helicopters flying or to address aging infrastructure problems pier-side, the commandant of the Coast Guard told a House panel on Tuesday.
While there has been money earmarked for...
https://news.usni.org/2019/04/09/schultz-coast-guard-readiness-at-a-tipping-point
Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 1, 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – A Mississippi senator is pushing to get the Navy authority to begin advance procurement and early construction activities on two amphibious ships, despite the Navy’s budget request that show those two ships being purchased in full later than the shipbuilder might like.
This current year’s budget spends about $350 million for America-class amphibious...
The crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal moor to a pier in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, July 24, 2018, prior to its commissioning ceremony. Coast Guard photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Lawmakers sounded skeptical that the Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request is enough to cover the cost of current operations and invest in future technology and equipment needs.
For FY 2019, the Coast Guard received $10.3 billion in discretionary funding, including money to recapitalize air and...
https://news.usni.org/2019/03/27/budget-season-means-tough-funding-choices-for-coast-guard
The following are the Navy Unfunded Priorities Lists for Fiscal Year 2020.
Download document here.
https://news.usni.org/2019/03/25/fiscal-year-2020-navy-unfunded-priorities-list