The Navy is standing up a new maritime industrial base program office and has tapped one of its career civil servants to take the helm.
Jay Stefany, who...
Jay Stefany
Ford Aircraft Carrier John F. Kennedy to Deliver a Year Late
In this aerial photograph, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) sits at Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding division. The ship is approximately 76 percent complete and is progressing through final outfitting and testing. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.
The next Ford-class aircraft carrier will now deliver to the Navy in 2025, one year later than the service’s most recent projection, according to Fiscal Year 2024 budget documents released this week.
The Navy delayed future carrier J...
https://news.usni.org/2023/03/23/ford-aircraft-carrier-john-f-kennedy-to-deliver-a-year-late
Navy Approves CH-53K Heavy-Lift Helicopter for Full-Rate Production
U.S. Marines with Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1) test the capabilities of the CH-53K King Stallion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on Dec. 16, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
The Marine Corps’ new heavy-lift helicopter is now in the full-rate production stage of the program, the Navy announced last week.
The new stage comes after acting Navy acquisition chief Jay Stefany performed a program assessment and signed a Dec. 21 memo permitting the CH-53K King Stallion to...
https://news.usni.org/2022/12/28/navy-approves-ch-53k-heavy-lift-helicopter-for-full-rate-production
Navy Issues $8M Modification for Overhaul of Cruiser it Plans to Decommission
Dry dock flooding begins for the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG-69) departure from BAE Systems Ship Repair dry dock pier on June 10, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy on Wednesday issued an $8 million contract modification for the modernization overhaul of a ship it wants to decommission next year.
The service awarded the modification to BAE Systems Ship Repair in Norfolk, Va., “to incorporate a request for a contract change for a 217-day extension for the accomplishment...
Navy Quietly Replaces Chief Weapons Buyer
Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) launching at Ingalls Shipbuilding on June 5, 2021. HII Photo
The civilian designated as the Navy’s chief acquisitions officer was replaced with no notice on Tuesday, USNI News has learned.
Jay Stefany, who was performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition (RDA), for the last year and a half was replaced on May 3 by Tommy Ross, according to a memo reviewed by USNI News.
Prior...
https://news.usni.org/2022/05/06/navy-quietly-replaces-chief-weapons-buyer
HII Lays Keel of Future Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise
An artist’s concept of the future carrier Enterprise (CVN-80). DoD Image
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – HII has laid the keel block of the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN-80) on Tuesday, USNI News has learned.
The seventh U.S. warship named after the Revolutionary War sloop, Enterprise formally began fabrication at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia, Rear Adm. James Downey, the program executive officer for carriers, told USNI News on Tuesday.
The start of fabrication comes three weeks...
https://news.usni.org/2022/04/05/hii-lays-keel-of-future-aircraft-carrier-uss-enterprise
Navy Says Aircraft Carrier Supply Chain Improving; USS Gerald R. Ford to Deploy by Fall
Carriers USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Newport News Shipbuilding on Nov. 12, 2021. USNI News Photo
The Navy is confident in its supply chain and the availability of spare parts to build and sustain its aircraft carriers, as the lead ship in the Gerald R. Ford class gears up for its first deployment, two service officials said last week.
After taking parts from the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the Navy is beginning to receive orders to replace those parts....
Stefany: Repairs to USS Connecticut Could Cause ‘Perturbations’ in Public Shipyards
USS Connecticut (SSN-22) departs Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for sea trials following a maintenance availability on Dec. 14, 2016. US Navy Photo
Unplanned repairs to the damaged attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) could disrupt the backlog of planned ship maintenance in the public naval yards, Jay Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told Congress on Thursday.
The Navy’s four public shipyards are struggling to keep up with the demand for...
Marines Say Unit Costs for CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter Dropping
CH-53K, K3, piloted by Mr. Rob Pupalaikis and Maj. Joshua Foxton, flies an aerial refueling test with an external load on Sept. 28, 2020, from NAS Patuxent River, MD. Sikorsky Photo.
The Marine Corps’ top aviation officer assured a key House panel this week that the unit costs of the CH-53K King Sea Stallion helicopter are dropping significantly.
Major problems such as engine gas re-ingestion are being fixed and readiness rates for test aircraft are all moving in the right direction, Lt. Gen....
https://news.usni.org/2021/07/05/marines-say-unit-costs-for-ch-53k-heavy-lift-helicopter-dropping
Status Report: Navy Unmanned Aerial, Subsurface Platforms
The Navy wants to emphasize the development of enablers for unmanned systems – the common interfaces and control stations, the networks, the secure data formats, the autonomy behaviors – as it pursues a hybrid manned/unmanned fleet for the future.
However, the platforms still matter – and most of the ones the Navy wants to leverage in the coming years are still in development.
Several platforms were discussed during a recent House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee...