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)
The House Armed Services Committee chairman praised an ongoing review of the combatant commanders’ force...
Sailors aboard to Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Delaware (SSN-791) on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee today released its draft Fiscal Year 2021 defense funding bill that would buy nine Navy ships, including the second Virginia-class attack submarine that the House Armed Services Committee is fighting to include in next year’s ship-buying plans.
The HAC-D legislation includes $22.3 billion in shipbuilding funds for the first Columbia-class ballistic missile...
Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo
The House Armed Services Committee reiterated its support for Navy shipbuilding today in an all-day markup of its annual defense bill, voting to include money for an additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and issuing an opening argument to the Senate for an additional Virginia-class attack submarine.
A key difference in the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is the Virginia SSN program....
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.
The House and the...
A Ghost Fleet Overlord test vessel takes part in a capstone demonstration during the conclusion of Phase I of the program in September. Two existing commercial fast supply vessels were converted into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for Overlord testing, which will play a vital role in informing the Navy’s new classes of USVs. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s transition from prototype to program of record for its portfolio of unmanned surface and undersea systems is being aided by industry,...
Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on April 2, 2019. US Navy Photo
The House Armed Services Committee may force the Navy to begin integrating hypersonic weapons onto the Zumwalt class of destroyers, something the sea service has talked about but not prioritized in its budget.
The Navy was put in charge of developing a common hypersonic glide body that will ultimately serve as a conventional prompt...
CH-53Ks fly in formation from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Jan. 9, 2020. Sikorsky photo.
CAPITOL HILL – Marine Corps leaders are looking forward to ramping up CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter production after military and industry leaders agree the program’s technical challenges are behind them.
During last year’s budget season hearings on the Hill, the focus of conversation around the 53K was a list of 126 deficiencies that had been identified, including the most talked-about issue of...
Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) respond to a man-overboard drill during a steel beach picnic in the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 25, 2019. US Navy Photo
Manning forward-deployed ships with fewer sailors, making less carrier strike groups available to deploy and reducing the size of command staffs are moves the Navy is considering as part of its drive to reduce $40 billion from its budget, according to a February memo outlining the cuts under...
Seaman Sakyra Baker stands aft lookout as an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on Feb. 21, 2019. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – The Navy’s request to end the F/A-18E-F Super Hornet production line after 2021 instead of signing another multiyear production contract was not to save money, but rather to allow manufacturer Boeing to convert the production line from building new planes to...
Sailors aboard Chinese missile destroyer Xi’an during the military parade marking Russia’s Navy Day on the sea near Kronshtadt islet off the shore of St. Petersburg, Russia on July 28, 2019. Xinhua Photo
China is not only a pacing threat to the U.S. naval fleet but also to the American shipbuilding industry and supply chain, Navy leaders and lawmakers said today during a Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee hearing.
Navy acquisition chief James Geurts said during the hearing that “our...