USS Russell (DDG-59), bottom, approaches the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon (T-AO-202), center, and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) for a replenishment-at-sea on Feb. 10, 2021. US Navy Photo
The number of ships in the fleet, now at 296 ships, will decrease if the Navy continues to have flat or declining budgets, the service’s top officer told Congress today.
Despite numerous evaluations showing the Navy needs more ships, Chief of Naval...
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley answer questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 10, 2021. DoD Photo
Pentagon leaders faced tough questions from lawmakers on the Navy’s decision to shelve the development of a sea-launched nuclear cruise missile during a Thursday budget hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Several Republican lawmakers voiced concerns about acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker’s plans to...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/10/lawmakers-question-navys-decision-to-abandon-nuclear-cruise-missile
The Navy only has funds to develop follow-ons either the (top) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, (middle) Arleigh Burke DDG-51guided-missile destroyer or (bottom) the Virginia-class submarine (SSN-774). Navy Images
The Navy only has enough money to develop either a new next-generation fighter, destroyer or submarine and will have to pick one platform to invest in, according to a recent memo obtained by USNI News.
In a memo dated June 4, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker called on the Navy to choose one...
Artist’s rendering of the Columbia-class SSBN submarine. US Navy Image
The Navy’s cost estimate for the lead ship in its new ballistic-missile submarine program grew by $637 million over the last year, according to the service’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget submission.
The estimated price for the future USS Columbia (SSBN-826), the lead ship in the class of 12 ballistic-missile submarines, is now $15.03 billion, compared to a $14.39 billion estimate in the FY 2021 submission, according to budget...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/07/cost-estimates-for-lead-boat-in-columbia-class-program-grow-by-637m
Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) leads a formation including the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Pinckney (DDG-91) and USS Kidd (DDG-100), and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) on April 21, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy has stood up an office to craft the next major surface...
USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) transits through the East China Sea on Nov. 15, 2019. US Navy Photo
The Navy is seeking nearly $110 million to help research and develop its next-generation destroyer and submarine programs, according to service budget documents.
The Fiscal Year 2022 submission asks for approximately $29.8 million to develop SSN(X) and about $79.7 million for concept development of the DDG(X) – which will succeed the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
According to the Navy’s research and...
An Oshkosh-built Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires vehicle with a Naval Strike Missile attached during a November 2020 test at Point Mugu, Calif. US Navy Photo
The Marines added two different types of anti-ship missiles for $153.8 million to the top of their $2.95 billion Unfunded Priorities List to Congress, USNI News has learned.
Number one on the list is 35 anti-ship Naval Strike Missiles for $57.8 million, followed by 48 Tactical Tomahawk long-range anti-ship and...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/02/anti-ship-missiles-top-marines-2-95b-fiscal-year-2022-wishlist
Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo
A second destroyer and funding for the Navy’s emerging tactical grid are on top of the Navy’s unfunded wish list to Congress, according to a copy of the report reviewed by USNI News on Tuesday.
Following Friday’s rollout of a modest $22.6 billion, eight ship shipbuilding plan that set aside funds for a single Arleigh Burke destroyer, the Navy wants an additional $1.66 billion for a second DDG.
“Funding a second ship in FY22 supports completing a...
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Jan. 19, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s modest shipbuilding request as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget shows the Pentagon has “walked away from the 500-ship Navy,” a senior defense analyst said Tuesday.
The Fiscal Year 2022 shipbuilding request is seeking $22.6 billion, a 3 percent drop from Fiscal Year’s 2021 shipbuilding total. The move from the Pentagon shows...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/analyst-says-pentagon-walked-away-from-the-500-ship-navy
An F/A-18F Super Hornet lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on June 25, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy is keeping classified the amount of Fiscal Year 2022 money it wants to develop the next-generation fighter aircraft set to replace the fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, according to service budget documents.
The Navy’s FY 2022 budget justification documents withhold the amount of dollars the service is putting toward the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/navy-keeps-next-generation-fighter-research-costs-classified