U.S. Navy

Marines Sundown Last EA-6B Prowler Squadron

Two U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler assigned to Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VMAQ) 2, fly off the coast of North Carolina, Feb 28, 2019. US Marine Corps

The Marine Corps will deactivate its final electronic attack squadron in a Friday ceremony, sending its trusty but aging EA-6B Prowler jet into retirement.

The “Death Jesters” of Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 (VMAQ-2) will formally be decommissioned and the Prowler retired during a “sundown” ceremony at Cherry...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/08/marines-sundown-last-ea-6b-prowler-squadron

Destroyer USS Zumwalt Headed to Canada as Part of First ‘Operational Underway’

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) departs San Diego as part of an operational underway on March 8, 2019. US Navy Photo

Guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) left San Diego on Friday for its first “operational underway” that will include a trip up the West Coast to a naval base in Canada.

Zumwalt was seen underway in San Diego Bay just before 11 a.m. local time by local ship-spotters as the warship headed out for open Pacific.

In a Friday statement, U.S. 3rd Fleet said the underway “demonstrates the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/08/destroyer-uss-zumwalt-headed-canada-part-first-operational-underway

Top Navy Civilian in Charge of Bases, Housing Resigns

The Honorable Mrs. Phyllis L. Bayer, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, receives a brief on installation energy initiative during her visit to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, on April 24, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo

Phyllis Bayer, the assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, submitted her resignation on Friday, stating she intends to leave government service to pursue other opportunities.

“While Navy leadership has been...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/08/41719

TRANSCOM, MARAD Want to Speed Up Purchase of Used Ships for Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet Suisun Bay, Calif. in 2014. US Navy

Faced with skyrocketing costs to repair the U.S.’s aging fleet of reserve merchant ships, the heads of the U.S. Maritime Administration and U.S. Transportation Command officials are pushing a program to buy more used vessels to fix a mobility at-sea readiness gap.

“I want to accelerate the used [ship] buy… We’ve got to put some actual dollars to that,” Army Gen. Steve Lyons, the commander of Transportation Command, told the House...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/07/transcom-marad-want-speed-purchase-used-ships-reserve-fleet

Carrier USS Carl Vinson Enters Drydock for Maintenance After Busy Deployment Cycle

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) sails past Seattle as it transits the Puget Sound on its way to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on Jan. 20, 2019. Vinson is scheduled to change homeports to Bremerton. US Navy photo.

Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) has entered a drydock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., to start a docking planned incremental availability.

The 37-year-old carrier – the third oldest in the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/07/41702

Second Weapons Elevator Accepted Aboard USS Gerald R. Ford

Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Shameka Judene, from Augusta, Georgia, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) weapons department, operates Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) upper stage no. 3. Navy photo.

The Navy accepted the second advanced weapons elevator aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) a month after the first elevator was deemed operational.

Ford, which is undergoing a post-shakedown availability (PSA) in Newport News, Va., was commissioned into the fleet in July 2017 without any of its 11...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/06/2nd-11-weapons-elevators-accepted-aboard-navys-newest-aircraft-carrier

Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center Further Solidifying its Role in Training, Operations

The guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) fires its forward MK-45 5-inch gun during a pre-action calibration fire evolution. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) cruiser-destroyer (CRUDES) units are completing the first East Coast CRUDES Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise. US Navy photo.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Last year, the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center accomplished a host of firsts in its advanced training activities for...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/07/surface-and-mine-warfighting-development-center-further-solidifying-its-role-in-training-operations

Navy to Contract New Class of Unmanned Surface Vehicle by Year’s End

Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy is moving fast to acquire a new class of unmanned surface vehicles and hopes to award a contract for USV designs by the end of the year, USNI News has learned.

In the next two months, the service is set to issue a request for proposals for a new class of medium USV, up to 50 meters long, according to an unclassified readout of the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/06/navy-contract-new-class-unmanned-surface-vehicle-years-end

Navy Appoints Admiral to Oversee Columbia Sub Effort

Artist’s rendering of the Columbia-class SSBN submarine. US Navy image.

THE PENTAGON – The Navy is standing up a new Program Executive Office for Columbia, pulling the ballistic-missile submarines out of the PEO Submarines portfolio and giving it a one-star admiral who can provide constant focus and leadership as the Columbia program moves from design into construction. 

James Geurts, the Navy’s acquisition chief, told a small group of reporters today that the decision to create a new PEO now...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/06/navy-standing-peo-columbia-ensure

Report: U.S. Carriers Need New Lethal Unmanned Aircraft, New Fighter to Stay Relevant

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To keep U.S. carriers relevant into the 21st century, the Navy needs to restart development of a lethal unmanned aircraft to fly from carrier decks, according to a new study on the future of the carrier air wing.

The Navy’s current air wing is composed of aircraft that don’t have the effective combat radius required to fight a far-flung island campaign in the Western Pacific,...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/05/report-u-s-carriers-need-new-lethal-unmanned-aircraft-new-fighter-to-stay-relevant

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