Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.)

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

Navy Says Ending Super Hornet Line Frees Up Resources for Life Extension Work

Seaman Sakyra Baker stands aft lookout as an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on Feb. 21, 2019. US Navy Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The Navy’s request to end the F/A-18E-F Super Hornet production line after 2021 instead of signing another multiyear production contract was not to save money, but rather to allow manufacturer Boeing to convert the production line from building new planes to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/10/navy-says-ending-super-hornet-line-frees-up-resources-for-life-extension-work

House Committee Votes to Prohibit Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons on Submarines

The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN-727) arrives in Busan for a regularly scheduled port visit while conducting routine patrols throughout the Western Pacific. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee added several provisions to its annual defense authorization bill, but the among most contentious was if the Pentagon should develop a low-yield nuclear weapon to deploy on nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

Support for and arguments against the strategic...

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/13/house-committee-votes-to-prohibit-low-yield-nuclear-weapons-on-submarines

Navy Fighter Readiness Nearing 80 Percent Mission Capable Target

Cmdr. Leslie Mintz, executive officer of the “Blacklions” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, inspects an F/A-18F Super Hornet prior to her flight on board Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.. US Navy Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The Navy now boasts its Super Hornet fleet is routinely 63 to 75 percent mission capable, a significant jump from the fall when the Navy struggled to keep half of its F-18s ready to fly.

In September, then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issued a memo to the service secretaries...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/05/42436