Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

Pentagon Acquisition Has Innovation Problem, New Study Finds

Undated photo of a B-21 Raider. US Air Force Photo

The Pentagon has an innovation adoption problem that’s part of a system that does not encourage new techniques, processes or technologies, former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at a Wednesday rollout of a new report on defense innovation.

James used the example of the fast fielding of the B-21 Raider bomber in December as an example of success in remarks during a rollout of the interim report on the Commission on Defense Innovation at...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/13/pentagon-acquisition-has-innovation-problem-new-study-finds

SASC Defense Bill Requires Navy to Present Fleet Plan Directly to Congress

Guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG-67) conducts carrier strike group integrated operations USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on June 10, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Senate Armed Services Committee has crafted legislation to give the Navy more ownership over its fleet architecture studies, according to the text of the annual defense policy bill released this week.

Language in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act would require the chief of naval operations to present a force structure...

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/23/sasc-defense-bill-requires-navy-to-present-fleet-plan-directly-to-congress

HASC Chairman Sees Future for Aircraft Carriers, Questions Cost

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, is briefed on the capabilities of the F-35A Lightning II during his visit at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2019. The congressman learned about several aspects of the 56th Fighter Wing F-35 pilot training and how the wing works to enhance lethality and readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jensen Stidham)

Questioning the $12 billion price tag of new aircraft carriers, the chairman of the House Armed Services...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/31/hasc-chairman-sees-future-for-aircraft-carriers-questions-cost

Pentagon Reissues FY 22 Shipbuilding Totals to Congress In Lieu of 30-Year Plan   

USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118) at Bath Iron Works

The Pentagon submitted an abbreviated long-range shipbuilding report to Congress that does not show construction past the Fiscal Year 2022 budget request, according to the document reviewed by USNI News on Thursday.

Instead, the Navy issued a summary of the eight-ship FY 2022 shipbuilding request, with a promise for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the service to further refine the needs of the Navy for a complete outlook as part of the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/17/pentagon-reissues-fy-22-shipbuilding-totals-to-congress-in-lieu-of-30-year-plan

CNO, Commandant: Services Have A Good Idea of How They’ll Fight, If Congress Helps Them With the Right Spending Plans

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Tyrell Lewis, a student in the Detachment Hawaii Enhanced Squad Leader Course, aims a dummy rocket launcher at the rocket station, one of twelve stations in the initial performance assessment portion of the course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, April 8, 2021. The course is an experimental proof of concept, with the intent of modernizing training and providing squad leaders with new capabilities. US Marine Corps photo.

The chief of naval operations and commandant of the Marine...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/13/cno-commandant-services-have-a-good-idea-of-how-theyll-fight-if-congress-helps-them-with-the-right-spending-plans

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

Report to Congress on Navy SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine

The following is the May 10, 2021 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Navy Next-Generation Attack Submarine (SSN[X]) Program:
Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

 Introduction and Issue for Congress 

The Navy wants to begin procuring a new class of nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), called the Next-Generation Attack Submarine or SSN(X), in FY2031. The SSN(X) would be the successor to the Virginia-class SSN design, which the Navy has been procuring since FY1998....

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/11/report-to-congress-on-navy-ssnx-next-generation-attack-submarine

VIDEO: Navy Decommissions USS Bonhomme Richard In San Diego Waterfront Ceremony

Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Three, and Capt. G. S. Thoroman, commanding officer, amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), salute the ensign for colors during a decommissioning ceremony for Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego on April 14, 2021. US Navy Photo

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) was decommissioned today, 22 years into a 40-year expected service life, following a fire last summer on the amphibious assault ship that damaged the island and...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/14/video-navy-decommissions-uss-bonhomme-richard-in-san-diego-waterfront-ceremony

Navy’s Vision for Future Fleet is Blurry Say Seapower Members Luria, Gallagher  

Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Logan Brown, from Joplin, Montana, scans the horizon from the bridge wing aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85) while underway conducting operations in the Taiwan Strait in March 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy isn’t doing a great job of arguing for the service to expand to face the growing maritime threat from China, two members of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee said on Thursday.

In the last...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/18/navys-vision-for-future-fleet-is-blurry-say-seapower-members-luria-gallagher

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