SAS 2019

Lawmakers Question MARAD on Sealift Readiness

RRF vessel SS Cornhusker State off the coast of Haiti, February 2010. MARAD Photo

Lawmakers were skeptical the Navy could meet its sealift requirements as part of the National Defense Strategy and that the service was on track to recapitalize its aging sealift fleet.

Rep. John Garamendi, (D-Calif.), called the Navy’s attention to the problem over the years “woefully inadequate” at Wednesday’s joint hearing of the House Armed Services readiness and seapower and projection Forces subcommittees.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/12/lawmakers-question-marad-on-sealift-readiness

Shipbuilders Studying Adding More Punch to Littoral Combat Ships

Freedom-class LCS St. Louis (LCS-19), left, in Marinette, Wisc., on Dec. 15, 2018, as Billings (LCS-15) is under construction and preparing for commissioning. US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Littoral Combat Ship builders are researching how to cram in additional lethal power into the existing Freedom- and Independence-variant ships.

Lockheed Martin and Austal USA are each conducting a two-phase look at how to upgrade the original LCS hulls, Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president of...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/21/shipbuilders-studying-adding-more-punch-to-littoral-combat-ships

Navy Wants to Invest In Amphibious Ship Upgrades, But Funding, Timing Still Unclear

The amphibious dock landing ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92) transit in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Murtha and Momsen are underway conducting routine operations as a part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Navy photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy is committed to upgrading its amphibious ships to support the Navy and Marines’ new way of operating and to leverage the power of the F-35B Joint...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/13/navy-wants-to-invest-in-amphibious-ship-upgrades-but-funding-timing-still-unclear

Virginia Block VI Subs Will Focus on Special Operations, Unmanned

USS Washington (SSN-787). HII Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Virginia-class attack submarine program office is in the early stages of determining what its Block VI design might look like and what payloads it would need to accommodate, the program manager said last week.

After some concerns that the Virginia-class hull design was beginning to run out of margin to add new capabilities, the program office is now spending 2019 looking at its options and will begin to make some final decisions next...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/13/virginia-sub-block-vi-will-focus-on-special-operations-unmanned

Navy Finalizing Plans for Assistant Secretary for Information Management Office

Sailors stand watch in the Fleet Operations Center at the headquarters of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet. U.S. Fleet Cyber Command (US Navy photo)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy by next month will have an idea of what its proposed assistant secretary of the Navy for information management office would look like, after an ongoing study to define the new office and its mission wraps up, the undersecretary of the Navy told USNI News.

Thomas Modly said this week that Ron Moultrie, the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/10/navy-finalizing-plans-for-assistant-secretary-for-information-management-office

Panel: Cyber-Securing the Web Requires Rethinking of How Data Flows

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The best way to achieve future cybersecurity is scrapping the web of today and start over by baking protections into the new version, according to the top security official at the Maritime Administration.

However, a dramatic shift to a new web is unlikely to occur any time soon, Cameron Naron said on Tuesday at the 2019 Sea-Air-Space symposium.

“We’re wedded to the current web, [but] it was never designed for cybersecurity,” Naron said. “We’re unprepared for what comes...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/10/panel-cyber-securing-the-web-requires-rethinking-of-how-data-flows

MARAD: U.S. Must Address Military Sealift Vessel and Crew Shortage

SATTAHIP, Thailand—A UH-60 Black Hawk is raised from Military Sealift Command’s voyage-charter, general purpose, heavy-lift vessel MV Ocean Grand at the pier in Sattahip, Thailand. Military Sealift Command Far East photo.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The few American-built and-operated tankers available to carry fuel for aircraft, tanks, fighting vehicles and trucks into war zones throws into sharp relief the strategic sealift problems facing the nation, a senior Maritime Administration official told...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/09/marad-u-s-must-address-military-sealift-vessel-and-crew-shortage

U.S. Navy Undersea Rescue Team Rethinking How it Deploys After Argentine Sub Loss

ARA San Juan (S-42)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Executing a submarine rescue is a race against time to reach a trapped crew before a dwindling oxygen supply runs out, and when the most recent request came for help, the U.S. Navy found mobilizing personnel and equipment took too long.

On Nov. 15, 2017, the Argentine Navy lost contact with its submarine ARA San Juan (S-42). Two days later, the Argentinians asked the U.S. Navy for help, and the San Diego-based Submarine Escape and Rescue team quickly...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/07/u-s-navy-undersea-rescue-team-rethinking-how-it-deploys-after-argentine-sub-loss

VT Halter Marine Details Coast Guard Icebreaker Bid

An artist’s rendering of VT Halter Marine’s winning bid for the U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter. VT Halter Marine image used with permission

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Coast Guard’s next icebreaker is based on a German research vessel, features a unique Finnish propulsion design and is driven by American diesels, shipbuilder VT Halter Marine told USNI News on Tuesday.

Ron Baczkowski, the shipyard’s chief executive, outlined the Polar Security Cutter design the company is set to build in...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/08/vt-halter-marine-details-coast-guard-icebreaker-bid

Raytheon to Arm Marine Corps with Anti-Ship Missiles in $47M Deal

U.S. Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Regiment, fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 1-18 in Yuma, Ariz. on Oct. 17, 2017. US Marine Corps Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Marine Corps is moving to integrate the Naval Strike Missile with its own forces as the service is pushing into a new era of island-hopping warfare.

This week, Raytheon was given a $47-million award to integrate the Naval Strike...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/08/raytheon-to-arm-marine-corps-with-anti-ship-missiles-in-47m-deal

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