secretary of the navy

Navy Questions Future Viability of Super Hornets; Recommends Against New Buy

F/A-18F Super Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, fly over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in the Atlantic Ocean, May 9, 2019. US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If Congress mandates the Navy keep buying the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, the airframes will be in the fleet into the 2050s. But by then, the fourth-generation fighters likely couldn’t stand up to future threats, a service official said Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, who leads the chief of...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/03/navy-questions-future-viability-of-super-hornets-recommends-against-new-buy

CNO Gilday: Navy Needs ‘Fundamental Change’ in How it Develops Fighters

An F/A-18 Super Hornet, attached to embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, breaks the sound barrier during an air power demonstration, showcasing firepower capability and maneuverability while at sea in the Indo-Pacific region in 2020. US Navy Photo

A decade from now, the backbone of the Navy’s tactical air fleet will begin to retire with no clear successor in line yet.

Earlier this year, the service signaled the end of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program and zeroed out the production line past 2021...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/09/cno-gilday-navy-needs-fundamental-change-in-how-it-develops-fighters

Introduction to the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance Program

The following is the Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program: An Introduction.

From the report

On September 15, 2020, U.S. Air Force acquisition executive Dr. Will Roper announced that the Air Force had flown a full-scale flight demonstrator as part of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
The announcement came as a surprise to many observers, both as the NGAD program was believed to be an early-phase technology development...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/06/introduction-to-the-air-forces-next-generation-air-dominance-program

Navy Quietly Starts Development of Next-Generation Carrier Fighter; Plans Call for Manned, Long-Range Aircraft

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the “’olden Warriors’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87, launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on May 26, 2020. US Navy Photo

After nearly a decade of fits and starts, the Navy has quietly initiated work to develop its first new carrier-based fighter in almost 20 years, standing up a new program office and holding early discussions with industry, USNI News has learned.

The multi-billion-dollar effort to replace...

SECNAV Braithwaite’s First Message to the Department of the Navy

The following is the first message to the Department of the Navy from Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite.

To Sailors, Marines, and all men and women of the Department of the Navy serving across this great world: Today marks the honor of my life, taking the oath of office to become the 77th but more importantly…Your Secretary of the Navy.

I am incredibly humbled to stand before You, the greatest Navy and Marine Corps in the world to accept this responsibility. For nearly 35 years, I like...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/29/secnav-braithwaites-first-message-to-the-department-of-the-navy

Kenneth Braithwaite Sworn in as Secretary of the Navy

Kenneth Braithwaite, U.S. ambassador to Norway, delivers remarks at a reception aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), in Oslo, Norway on June 25, 2018. US Navy Photo

Kenneth Braithwaite was sworn in as the newest secretary of the Navy during a private ceremony today at the Pentagon, capping what has been a tumultuous six months for the department’s leadership.

The Senate confirmed Braithwaite last week after he offered members of the Senate Armed...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/29/kenneth-braithwaite-sworn-in-as-secretary-of-the-navy

Navy Cuts Super Hornet Production to Develop Next-Generation Fighter

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 sits chocked and chained on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) on Aug. 24, 2018. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to truncate production of the legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in favor of pumping money into accelerating the development of its long-gestating next-generation carrier-based fighter program, the service revealed in its Fiscal Year 2021 budget request.

Next...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/10/navy-cuts-super-hornet-production-to-develop-next-generation-fighter

CNO Gilday: Navy Still Mulling Post-F-35C Aviation Combatant; Could be Mix of Manned, Unmanned Aircraft

A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II, attached to Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing, the ‘Argonauts’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, completes a flight over Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Feb. 1, 2019. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy is unclear how it will proceed with its next generation of aviation combatants following the introduction of the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter into the carrier air wing, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/05/cno-gilday-navy-still-mulling-post-f-35c-aviation-combatant-could-be-mix-of-manned-unmanned-aircraft

Navy Has No Plans Develop Lethal Carrier UAV Before MQ-25A Hits Flight Decks

X-47B Salty Dog 501 flies over USS Theodore Roosevelt on Aug. 17, 2014. US Naval Institute Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy won’t pursue the development of a lethal carrier-based unmanned aircraft before it fields its unmanned MQ-25A Stingray tanker sometime in the 2020s, the service’s requirements chief said last week.

The service is taking a deliberate approach to adding unmanned aviation assets to carrier decks, ensuring it successfully integrates the MQ-25A into the airwing before it studies...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/22/navy-has-no-plans-develop-lethal-carrier-uav-before-mq-25a-hits-flight-decks

Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Ship Names

The following is the Feb. 28, 2019 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress.

From the Report

Names for Navy ships traditionally have been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President and in accordance with rules prescribed by Congress. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time. There have been exceptions to the Navy’s ship-naming rules, particularly for the purpose...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/05/report-congress-u-s-navy-ship-names-4

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