Robert O’Brien

Biden Administration Wants to Expand Pacific ‘Quad’ Relationship, National Security Advisor Sullivan Says

Ships from the Royal Australian Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the United States Navy participate in Malabar 2020 on Nov. 17, 2020. US Navy Photo

Transforming a loose network of U.S. allies in the Pacific into something more than an informal security relationship between four Indo-Pacific democracies is a goal for the Biden administration, its new national security advisor said Friday.

Speaking Friday at a United States Institute for Peace online forum, Jake Sullivan...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/29/biden-administration-wants-to-expand-pacific-quad-relationship-national-security-advisor-sullivan-says

Path to Install Hypersonic Weapons on Arleigh Burke Destroyers Unclear

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) steams in formation with USS Independence (LCS-2) and USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) on Dec. 8, 2016. US Navy Photo

The trio of 16,000-ton Zumwalt-class destroyers could replace their dormant twin 155mm Advanced Gun System mounts in the bow of the ship with a reconfigured MAC tube to field the new weapon, USNI News understands. The rounds for the AGS weapon were deemed too expensive for the Navy to procure, so now the systems are dormant on the first two ships. The cost of...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/22/path-to-install-hypersonic-weapons-on-arleigh-burke-destroyers-unclear

SECDEF Esper’s ‘Battle Force 2045’ Plan Still Awaiting White House Approval

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper conducts Virtual Engagement with Industry Partners at the Pentagon on Oct. 21, 2020. DoD Photo

Two weeks after Defense Secretary Mark Esper unveiled the outline for his Battle Force 2045 initiative to grow the Navy to more than 500 ships, the Trump administration has yet to give final approval.

A week before Esper’s Oct. 6 speech outlining the bullet points of the fleet proposal that would set the course of Navy shipbuilding for the next two decades, the White...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/21/secdef-espers-battle-force-2045-plan-still-awaiting-white-house-approval