SASC

MDA: U.S. Aircraft Carriers Now at Risk from Hypersonic Missiles

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sails behind the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), March 3, 2021. US Navy photo.

U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said last week before the Senate.

“It’s important that we have that capability now...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/14/mda-u-s-aircraft-carriers-now-at-risk-from-hypersonic-missiles

SASC Chairman: 355-Ship Fleet is ‘Arbitrary’ Goal, Navy Needs To Pursue Autonomous Vehicles

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) steam in formation during a Strait of Hormuz transit, Sept. 18 on Sept. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo

Rather than focusing on the “arbitrary” 355-ship fleet total, the service should concentrate more effort on developing autonomous vehicles, the top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee said today.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Institute, SASC Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) emphasized the importance of capability...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/11/sasc-chairman-355-ship-fleet-is-arbitrary-goal-navy-needs-to-pursue-autonomous-vehicles

Dual Letters From Congress Signal Hill Headed for Defense Spending Showdown

NASA Photo

A debate between lawmakers over defense spending is brewing, as a group of progressive House members push for cuts to the defense budget while others argue for a boost to shipbuilding.

In a March 16 letter to President Joe Biden, 50 Democratic members of Congress argued for a decreased budget for the Defense Department.

“Recent reporting indicates that your first budget request to Congress will recommend the same level of Pentagon spending as the last fiscal year. While we are heartened...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/16/dual-letters-from-congress-signal-hill-headed-for-defense-spending-showdown

Report to Congress on U.S.-Vietnam Relations

The following is the Feb. 16, 2021, Congressional Research Service In Focus report: U.S.-Vietnam Relations.

From the report

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam in 1995, overlapping strategic and economic interests have led the two countries to expand ties across a wide spectrum of issues. The United States is Vietnam’s 2nd largest bilateral trading partner (after China), and Vietnam is the United States’ 10th largest trading partner. Since 2010,...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/17/report-to-congress-on-u-s-vietnam-relations

Kathleen Hicks: Current Navy Shipbuilding Plan Needs ‘Future Analysis’

Deputy Defense Secretary nominee Kathleen Hicks. Center for Strategic and International Studies Photo

The nominee for the number-two civilian job in the Pentagon told a Senate panel on Tuesday the Navy’s proposed long-term shipbuilding plan would “require future analysis to validate the numbers.”

Before that work could kick-off, Kathleen Hicks said during her confirmation hearing to serve as deputy defense secretary that she would want to have a Navy civilian leadership team in place.

Sen. Roger...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/02/kathleen-hicks-current-navy-shipbuilding-plan-needs-future-analysis

Congress Overrides Trump Defense Bill Veto

NASA Photo

The Senate voted 81 to 13 to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act in a rare New Year’s Day session.

“Today, the Senate sent a strong message of support to our troops by voting to make the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act law,” Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said in a Friday statement. “I’m glad the Senate voted once again, by a wide bipartisan margin, for this bill — the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/01/congress-overrides-trump-defense-bill-veto

Report to Congress on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for Great Power Competition

The following is the June 4, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Design for Great Power Competition.

From the report

The U.S. military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia. This implication by the National Defense Strategy Commission stands in contrast to the past several decades during which the U.S. possessed military power without equal. Great power competition has...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/07/report-to-congress-on-intelligence-surveillance-and-reconnaissance-for-great-power-competition

House, Senate Defense Bill Signs Off on New Shipbuilding Programs, Restricts Others

Leaders from the House and Senate armed services committees agreed to a $738 billion Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which approves funding for several Navy programs but also imposes limits on a few high-profile ship programs.

Both chambers of Congress are expected to vote on the FY 2020 NDAA later this week. The compromise closed some of the gap separating the House and Senate version of the bill passed earlier this year. The House version authorized $733 billion. The...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/10/house-senate-defense-bill-signs-off-on-new-shipbuilding-programs-restricts-others

Defense Committees Start Conference on FY20 Authorization Bill

NASA Photo

CAPITOL HILL – With 11 days to go until Fiscal Year 2019 ends, lawmakers from the House and Senate held their first armed services conference committee meeting to iron out differences between each chamber’s version of next year’s National Defense Authorization Act.

When the fiscal year ends, so does funding. To avoid a government shutdown, the House Thursday afternoon passed a continuing resolution, a short-term spending bill called authorizing defense spending to continue in FY 2020...

https://news.usni.org/2019/09/19/defense-committee-start-conference-on-fy20-authorization-bill

VIDEO: CNO Gilday’s First Message to the Fleet

The following is the Aug. 23, 2019 first message to the fleet from 32nd Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday.

Adm. Mike Gilday
Chief of Naval Operations

I am humbled and honored to be your Chief of Naval Operations. Together, we are part of the greatest navy in the world. Everyone on our team – officers and enlisted Sailors, active and reserve, uniformed and civilian – plays an important part in making sure we not only remain the greatest navy in the world, but that we get even better.

For...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/23/video-cno-gildays-first-message-to-the-fleet

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