News & Analysis

China Says PLA Scrambled Aircraft, Ships to ‘Expel’ U.S. Warship from South China Sea Island Chain

Seaman Xi Chan stands lookout on the flight deck as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52) transits the Taiwan Strait during routine underway operations on April 23, 2020. US Navy Photo

Chinese authorities said they sortied ships and aircraft to “track, monitor, verify, identify and expel” a U.S. warship from the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea on Tuesday, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officials said on Chinese social media.

Navy officials confirmed to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/28/china-says-pla-scrambled-aircraft-ships-to-expel-u-s-warship-from-south-china-sea-island-chain

Navy Looking to Buy Aircraft Engines as Civilian Demand Dwindles

Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Caleb Fisher, left, and Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class Ricky Souza, both assigned to the Skinny Dragons of Patrol Squadron (VP) 4, install a spinner cone to the CFM56-7B engine of a squadron P-8A Poseidon aircraft as a part of a scheduled maintenance inspection on Feb. 4, 2020. US Navy photo.

The Navy is moving forward with its plans to take advantage of a commercial aviation slowdown by accelerating new orders, buying spare parts and conducting depot...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/28/navy-looking-to-buy-aircraft-engines-as-civilian-demand-dwindles

USS Kidd Arrives in San Diego to Treat COVID-19 Outbreak; First Cases Emerged More than A Month After Hawaii Port Visit

USS Kidd (DDG-100) arrives in San Diego on April 28, 2020. US Navy Photo

The second deployed U.S. warship to suffer a COVID-19 outbreak pulled into San Diego on Tuesday to begin the process of offloading, testing, isolating and treating the crew and disinfecting the ship to prepare to head back to sea.

As of Tuesday, 64 sailors on guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-100) have tested positive for the virus, with 63 percent of the crew tested.

Two Kidd sailors have been medically evacuated to the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/28/uss-kidd-arrives-in-san-diego-to-treat-covid-19-outbreak-first-cases-emerged-more-than-a-month-after-hawaii-port-visit

Shipyards Continue to Balance COVID-19 Mitigation With Efficient Operations

Gregory Rarnor assembles an access hatch for Massachusetts (SSN-798). Newport News Shipbuilding

It’s still too early to say if the COVID-19-related economic slowdown is significantly disrupting the production of major programs, the Navy’s top weapons-buyer said during a media call Tuesday.

At the shipyards, the near-term priority work is on track. However, the Navy is still watching how COVID-19-related restrictions and supply-chain problems are disrupting the mid- and long-term work, James...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/28/shipyards-continue-to-balance-covid-19-mitigation-with-efficient-operations

Hospital Ship Comfort Ends NYC COVID-19 Mission After Treating 182 Patients

Sailors transport the last patient off the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) for relocation to a local hospital for the appropriate level of follow-on care on April 26, 2020. US Navy Photo

After a nearly-month-long mission helping New York in the COVID-19 pandemic fight, hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) will leave its temporary berth – likely for its Virginia homeport – and prepare for a possible assignment elsewhere.

Medical teams aboard Comfort, which last month quickly activated and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/27/hospital-ship-comfort-ends-nyc-covid-19-mission-after-treating-182-patients

USS Kidd Reports 47 Cases of COVID-19 as Destroyer Heads to San Diego

Operations Specialist 2nd Class Yves Permelona, left, and Operations Specialist 2nd Class June Canuel, practice plotting courses during combat systems training aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-100) on April 16, 2020. US Navy Photo

The COVID-19 outbreak on Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-100) has resulted in 47 sailors testing positive for the virus, with two sailors flown to shore to receive treatment, the Navy reported Monday...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/27/uss-kidd-reports-47-cases-of-covid-19-as-destroyer-heads-to-san-diego

Carrier USS Nimitz Underway for Final Rounds of Training Ahead of Deployment

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) passes Mount Rainier while transiting Puget Sound on Feb. 22, 2020. US Navy Photo

Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departed Bremerton, Wash., on Monday for its final pre-deployment training event, in what is the Navy’s first real test of its plan to prevent COVID-19 from spreading among deploying crews.

Nimitz will likely remain at sea after completing its Composite Training UnitExercise (COMPTUEX) off the coast of San Diego and not return to port ahead of its deployment...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/27/carrier-uss-nimitz-underway-for-final-rounds-of-training-ahead-of-deployment

2 USS Kidd Sailors Evacuated as COVID-19 Outbreak Spreads; USS Makin Island Steaming to Assist

USS Kidd (DDG-100) transits the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 27, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy has dispatched an amphibious warship with a specialized medical team to assist with a spreading COVID-19 outbreak on a deployed guided-missile destroyer, the service said on Saturday.

USS Makin Island (LHD-8) has been ordered to rendezvous with USS Kidd (DDG-100) in the Eastern Pacific. The big deck amphib is embarked with a fleet surgical team, an onboard intensive care unit, ventilators and testing...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/26/2-uss-kidd-sailors-evacuated-as-covid-19-outbreak-spreads-uss-makin-island-steaming-to-assist

Pentagon Confirms 18 COVID-19 Cases on Deployed USS Kidd, Destroyer Heading to Port

USS Kidd (DDG-100) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) while participating in Exercise Northern Edge 2019 on May 16, 2019. US Navy Photo

The second deployed U.S. warship is suffering an outbreak of COVID-19, Pentagon leaders confirmed on Friday.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-100) has reported 18 cases of the virus aboard, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday.

A medical team has been embarked on the destroyer and the ship is heading back...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/24/pentagon-confirms-18-covid-19-cases-on-deployed-uss-kidd-destroyer-heading-to-port

Destroyer USS Zumwalt Delivers to Navy After Combat System Activation

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) pierside in Pearl Harbor during a port visit in 2019. US Navy Photo

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was delivered to the fleet after completing its combat system activation and subsequent at-sea trials, two sources told USNI News.

The ship will now count towards the Navy’s battle force ship totals, though operationally the announcement of the delivery doesn’t change much for the ship crew or the fleet. Zumwalt will still continue conducting at-sea developmental and integrated...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/24/destroyer-uss-zumwalt-delivers-to-navy-after-combat-system-activation

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