House Armed Services Committee

Thornberry Uneasy With Pentagon Shipbuilding Plan, Supports Fully Funding Nuclear Triad

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R=Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), center, speaks with Rear Adm. Michael E. Boyle, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK) in 2018. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican has “heartburn” over the proposed shipbuilding budget for Fiscal Year 2021 but is also committed to fully funding the modernization of the nuclear triad and is acutely aware of a congressionally imposed topline for defense spending next year.

Rep....

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/12/thornberry-uneasy-with-pentagon-shipbuilding-plan-supports-fully-funding-nuclear-triad

Navy, Marines Prioritizing Manning, Maintenance After Fatal Pacific Mishaps

Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) conduct maintenance on an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft atop the flight deck aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), Philippine Sea, Jan. 26, 2019. VMM-262 (Rein.) is the Aviation Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. US Marine Corps photo.

CAPITOL HILL – Manning and maintenance considerations are driving conversations about Navy and Marine Corps operations, as the two sea services rebuild readiness...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/05/navy-marines-prioritizing-manning-maintenance-after-fatal-pacific-mishaps

HASC Member, Navy Vet Rep. Luria Wants Navy to Study Readiness-Generation Model

The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) is dry-docked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia, on April 23, 2019. George H.W. Bush is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard for its docking planned incremental availability. US Navy photo.

CAPITOL HILL – A freshman lawmaker and 20-year Navy veteran wants the sea service to take a hard look at its readiness-generation model to see if there are more efficient ways to spend ships’ time.

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), who served as...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/22/hasc-member-navy-vet-rep-luria-wants-navy-to-study-readiness-generation-model

Rep. Elaine Luria, Retired Navy Commander and Freshman Lawmaker, On Her First Months in Congress

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1997 and served in the Navy until 2017. Photo courtesy Luria’s campaign Facebook page.

CAPITOL HILL — Many House Armed Services Committee members speak from some kind of experience: they have a military base or major defense contractor in their district, or they or a family member have prior military service.

Freshman Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) has all of the above.

Luria is a 20-year Navy veteran who was elected to Congress last...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/23/rep-elaine-luria-retired-navy-commander-and-freshman-lawmaker-on-her-first-months-in-congress

Marines Say CH-53K Deficiencies Are All ‘Fixable’

The first CH-53K King Stallion delivered to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, N.C. on May 16, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The Marines’ top aviator said the new CH-53K heavy lift helicopter has had some struggles during its past year of testing but would emerge from it a capable and reliable asset for the Marines.

Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder told the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee on Thursday that last year the service moved the Lockheed...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/05/42456

Navy Rules Out Suspected Physiological Episodes Cause While Super Hornet Rates Grow in 2019

F/A-18E Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 “Knighthawks” fly in formation during a photo exercise over Calif., on March 12, 2019. US Navy Photo

CAPITOL HILL — The Navy has ruled out breathing air contamination as a cause of physiological episodes, but a complex set of conditions – including both cabin pressure issues and human factors – has led to the rates of pilots experiencing PEs this current fiscal year being back on the rise.

Though the service has not yet pinpointed a...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/04/navy-rules-out-contamination-as-physiological-episodes-cause-focused-on-air-pressure-as-super-hornet-rates-still-high

Marines Accelerating F-35C Procurement to Support Carrier Deployments; F-35B Buys Would Slow

An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 sits chained on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Dec. 9, 2018. US Navy Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The Marine Corps is accelerating its F-35C carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter procurement and slowing its F-35B vertical landing variant to support Navy deployment requirements, the Marines’ top aviator told lawmakers today.

In its Fiscal Year 2020 budget request the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/04/marines-accelerating-f-35c-procurement-support-carrier-deployments-f-35b-buys-slow

Pentagon Developing Low-Yield Nuclear Cruise Missiles For Submarines

A deck view, looking toward the bow, of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine OHIO (SSBN-726) with its missile tubes opened during pre-commissioning activities. The submarine, built by General Dynamics Corp., carries Trident C-4 (UGM-96) submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The Pentagon is in the early stages of developing low-yield submarine-launched nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, a senior Department of Defense official told lawmakers Wednesday.

Both Russia and China are making...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/03/42398

Senator Wants to Keep Amphib Construction Moving, After FY 2020 Budget Request Delays Programs

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...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/28/senator-wants-keep-amphib-construction-moving-fy-2020-budget-request-delays-programs

After Hearings, Lawmakers Call Truman Carrier Retirement Plan ‘Ridiculous’

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transits the Atlantic Ocean on Dec. 12, 2018. US Navy photo.

CAPITOL HILL – Lawmakers told industry representatives today that, if it wasn’t already clear from their hearings with Pentagon and Navy leadership this week, they had no intention of letting the Defense Department shed an aircraft carrier instead of refuel it.

“I think that’s’ a ridiculous idea,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), a retired Navy commander and current representative...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/28/after-navy-hearings-lawmakers-still-call-truman-carrier-retirement-plan-ridiculous

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