GAO: Design Delays on Columbia Sub Program Leading to Construction Delays, Cost Increases

Artist’s rendering of the Columbia-class SSBN submarine. US Navy Image

The Government Accountability Office released a new report that warns Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine cost and schedule plans are at risk due to problems with a new digital design tool and cascading effects stemming from the design challenges.

The report – Columbia Class Submarine: Delivery Hinges on Timely and Quality Materials from an Atrophied Supplier Base – explains that Columbia program prime contractor...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/14/gao-design-delays-on-columbia-sub-program-leading-to-construction-delays-cost-increases

Message from Joint Chiefs on U.S. Capitol Riot

The following is the Jan. 12, 2021 message to U.S. troops from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE JOINT FORCE
SUBJECT: MESSAGE TO THE JOINT FORCE

The American people have trusted the Armed Forces of the United States to protect them and our Constitution for almost 250 years. As we have done throughout our history, the U.S. military will obey lawful orders from civilian leadership, support civil authorities to protect lives and property, ensure public safety in accordance with the law,...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/12/message-from-joint-chiefs-on-u-s-capitol-riot

Navy Wants to Shed Aegis Ashore Mission, But Army Still Hasn’t Agreed to Take It

The new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS) mission. Photo represents construction progress as of August 2019. US Navy Photo

The chief of naval operation’s new call to focus on sea control and power projection could lead the service to shed other non-core missions the Navy conducts today, such as manning Aegis Ashore missile defense sites.

The biggest problem is, no one else has agreed to take over that mission yet.

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/12/navy-wants-to-shed-aegis-ashore-mission-but-army-still-hasnt-agreed-to-take-it

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 11, 2021

USNI News Graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Jan. 11, 2021, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:297Ships Underway

Deployed Ships UnderwayNon-deployed Ships UnderwayTotal Ships Underway
511465

Ships Deployed by Fleet

Fleet Forces3r...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/11/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-jan-11-2021

2021 Chief of Naval Operations NAVPLAN

The following is the Chief of Naval Operations 2021 NAVPLAN, published on Jan. 11, 2021.

From the document

For 245 years, our Navy has operated forward to protect commerce and keep fights far from our
shores. Since the end of World War II, we have sailed with like-minded navies to uphold the rulesbased order at sea. Together, we have provided stability, deterred great power war, preserved peace, and ushered in prosperity for billions of people across the world.

Now our collective security—and way...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/11/2021-chief-of-naval-operations-navplan

USNI News 2020 Fleet and Marine Review

When 2020 closed, the Navy’s aircraft carrier forces spent a collective 896 days deployed across the world – 200 more days than in 2019. As reported by USNI News in November, the carrier force has been under strain over the last 20 years, and the use of the force accelerated in 2020. Likewise, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps amphibious ready groups and Marine expeditionary units saw deployments to the Western Pacific and U.S. Central Command.

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Pentagon’s Counter Small Drone Strategy

The following is the U.S. Department of Defense Counter-sUAS Strategy that was released on Jan. 7, 2020.

From the report

The exponential growth of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) creates new risks for the Department of Defense (DoD). Technology trends are dramatically transforming legitimate applications of sUAS while simultaneously making them increasingly capable weapons in the hands of state actors, non-state actors, and criminals. Small UAS may also pose hazards to DoD operations in...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/08/pentagons-counter-small-drone-strategy

Naval Community College Kicks Off Pilot Program This Month With 600 Students

Sailors take the Navy wide advancement exam aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Sept. 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

The United States Naval Community College will begin serving its first class of about 600 students, under a pilot program running from January through June.

The students will come from the Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, and they will be taught by a combined effort from Northern Virginia Community College, the University of Arizona, the University of Maryland Global...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/07/naval-community-college-kicks-off-pilot-program-this-month-with-600-students

New Navy, Marine Corps Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic

The following is the Department of the Navy document, A Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic that was released on Jan. 5, 2020.

From the report

The United States is a maritime nation. We are also an Arctic nation. Our security, prosperity, and vital interests in the Arctic are increasingly linked to those of other nations in and out of the region. America’s interests are best served by fostering compliance with existing rules to assure a peaceful and prosperous Arctic Region – stretching from Maine...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/05/new-navy-marine-corps-strategic-blueprint-for-the-arctic

Report on Russian Cyber Units

The following is the Jan. 4, 2021 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Russian Cyber Units.

From the report

Russia has deployed sophisticated cyber capabilities to conduct disinformation, propaganda, espionage, and destructive cyberattacks globally. To conduct these operations, Russia maintains numerous units overseen by its various security and intelligence agencies. Russia’s security agencies compete with each other and often conduct similar operations on the same targets, making...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/05/report-on-russian-cyber-units

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