NGAD

MQ-25A Stingray IOC Pushed to 2026 Following Manufacturing Delays

Sailor repositions a Boeing unmanned MQ-25 aircraft on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Production delays to manufacture Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray pushed its initial operational capability by a year, the head program executive in charge of Navy unmanned aerial systems said Monday.

The MQ-25A Stingray, the first major unmanned aerial vehicle to deploy on U.S. aircraft carriers, will serve as an aerial refueling tanker on...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/04/mq-25a-stingray-ioc-pushed-to-2026-following-manufacturing-delays

DDG(X) $122M Land-Based Test Site Opens in Philadelphia

Notional Navy DDG(X) hull design. PEO Ships Image

Program Executive Officer Ships opened the land-based test facility for its next-generation guided-missile destroyer propulsion system in Philadelphia, the Navy announced this week.

The site at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division will host a $122 million full-scale complete integrated propulsion system for the DDG(X), according to a budget summary of the site reviewed by USNI News.

As part of the Fiscal Year 2020 and 2022...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/22/ddgx-122m-land-based-test-site-opens-in-philadelphia

FY2024 Budget: Navy Request Calls for 9 New Ships, Asks to Shed 2 Littoral Combat Ships, 6 Other Ships

A Royal Malaysian Navy service member stands by for the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) to depart the Port of Lumut Base Jetty to participate in the sea phase of Maritime Training Activity (MTA) 2019. U.S. Air Force Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to purchase nine battle force ships and decommission eight hulls in its Fiscal Year 2024 budget request.

The proposal, formally unveiled today at the Pentagon, is asking for $255.8 billion for the Department of the...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/13/fy2024-budget-navy-request-calls-for-9-new-ships-asks-to-shed-2-littoral-combat-ships-6-other-ships

Marines Buy 2 XQ-58A Valkyrie Drones for ‘Collaborative Killer’ Concept Testing

The Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie is an experimental stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle designed and built by Kratos. US Air Force Photo

The Marine Corps used a new Pentagon program designedto quickly prototype systems for conflict in the Pacific to buy two unmanned aerial vehicles last month for $15.5 million, a service official told USNI News on Tuesday.

The contract to Kratos for the pair of XQ-58A Valkyrie “loyal wingman” drones was bought through the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/24/marines-buy-2-xq-58a-valkyrie-drones-for-collaborative-killer-concept-testing

CNO Gilday: Next-Generation Air Dominance Will Come Ahead of DDG(X) Destroyer

Notional Navy DDG(X) hull design. PEO Ships Image

ARLINGTON, Va. – First the fighter, then the destroyer and finally the submarine. That’s the order the Navy is set to introduce its next three major acquisition programs in the 2030s, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said last week.

The Navy’s next large surface warship program – now known as DDG(X) – might not be ready for a contract award until Fiscal Year 2030. The Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance program will start acquisition in...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/18/cno-gilday-next-generation-air-dominance-will-come-ahead-of-ddgx-destroyer

Navy Buys 2 ‘Loyal Wingman’ XQ-58A Valkyrie Drones for $15.5M

An XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle launches at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2020. US Air Force Photo

The Navy is buying two stealth unmanned aerial systems – originally developed for the Air Force – that could operate with a manned fighter, as the service pursues the manned-unmanned teaming concept officials say is central to the future of naval aviation.

The service issued a $15.5 million contract to Kratos for the XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned aerial system,...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/03/navy-buys-2-loyal-wingman-xq-58a-valkyrie-drones-for-15-5m

SECNAV Del Toro: Navy Needs to ‘Be Realistic’ in Pursuit of Navy’s Next Destroyer, Sub, Fighter

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro delivers remarks during an all-hands call at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay on Nov. 16, 2022. US Navy Photo

The technologies developed for the Navy’s next destroyer, submarine and fighter must be mature and cost-effective before the new platforms go into production, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told USNI News in an interview last week.

The Navy’s next-generation guided-missile destroyer, attack submarine and fighter will rely on developing...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/12/secnav-del-toro-navy-needs-to-be-realistic-in-pursuit-of-navys-next-destroyer-sub-fighter

Several UAVs Under Development for Next-Generation Carrier Air Wing

An MQ-25 test asset, known as T1, conducts its first aerial refueling test flight with an F-35C Lightning II Sept. 13, 2021 near MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois. Boeing Photo

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Several new unmanned aerial vehicles are under development as part of the Navy’s air wing of the future concept in addition to the unmanned aerial tanker set to deploy in 2026, Navy officials said on Wednesday.

The new aircraft are being designed to meet growing requirements for range for...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/13/several-uavs-under-development-for-next-generation-carrier-air-wing

Report to Congress on Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program

The following is the June 23, 2022 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program.

From the report

According to the Air Force, the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is intended to develop “a portfolio of technologies enabling air superiority.” The Air Force intends for NGAD to replace the F-22 fighter jet beginning in 2030, possibly including a combination of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, with other systems and sensors. NGAD began as a...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/24/report-to-congress-on-air-force-next-generation-air-dominance-program

+ More