SECNAV Memo: New Destroyer, Fighter or Sub: You Can Only Pick One; Cut Nuclear Cruise Missile

The Navy only has funds to develop follow-ons either the (top) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, (middle) Arleigh Burke DDG-51guided-missile destroyer or (bottom) the Virginia-class submarine (SSN-774). Navy Images

The Navy only has enough money to develop either a new next-generation fighter, destroyer or submarine and will have to pick one platform to invest in, according to a recent memo obtained by USNI News.

In a memo dated June 4, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker called on the Navy to choose one...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/08/secnav-memo-new-destroyer-fighter-or-sub-you-can-only-pick-one-cut-nuclear-cruise-missile

Navy Stands Up Next-Generation Destroyer Program Office, Construction Start Planned for FY 28

Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) leads a formation including the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Pinckney (DDG-91) and USS Kidd (DDG-100), and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) on April 21, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy has stood up an office to craft the next major surface...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/04/navy-stands-up-next-generation-destroyer-program-office-construction-start-planned-for-fy-28

Navy Wants $110M in FY 22 R&D Funds to Develop Next-Generation Destroyer, Submarine

USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) transits through the East China Sea on Nov. 15, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy is seeking nearly $110 million to help research and develop its next-generation destroyer and submarine programs, according to service budget documents.

The Fiscal Year 2022 submission asks for approximately $29.8 million to develop SSN(X) and about $79.7 million for concept development of the DDG(X) – which will succeed the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

According to the Navy’s research and...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/02/navy-wants-110m-in-fy-22-rd-funds-to-develop-next-generation-destroyer-submarine

Destroyer, Navy Tactical Grid Systems Top $5.5B FY 22 Navy Unfunded List

Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo

A second destroyer and funding for the Navy’s emerging tactical grid are on top of the Navy’s unfunded wish list to Congress, according to a copy of the report reviewed by USNI News on Tuesday.

Following Friday’s rollout of a modest $22.6 billion, eight ship shipbuilding plan that set aside funds for a single Arleigh Burke destroyer, the Navy wants an additional $1.66 billion for a second DDG.

“Funding a second ship in FY22 supports completing a...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/destroyer-navy-tactical-grid-systems-top-5-5b-fy-22-navy-unfunded-list

7th Fleet CO: Deployed LCS USS Gabrielle Giffords ‘Pretty Much Owned’ South China Sea

The Independence-variant littoral combat ships USS Montgomery (LCS 8), bottom, and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) operate in the South China Sea, accompanied by an MH-60S Sea Hawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, Jan. 28, 2020. US Navy photo

The Navy is now pushing the Littoral Combat Ships out into the Pacific in force after more than a decade of stops and starts and studies.

Today, there are two LCS deployed to the western Pacific – USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Charleston...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/27/7th-fleet-co-deployed-lcs-uss-gabrielle-giffords-pretty-much-owned-south-china-sea

Electric Boat Awarded $2.4 Billion for 2nd FY 2021 Virginia-class Attack Boat

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

The Navy today awarded a construction contract for a second Virginia-class attack submarine this fiscal year, which the Trump administration had cut from its FY 2021 budget request and the House Armed Services Committee fought to have included in the final spending and defense bills.

The Navy awarded $2.42 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for SSN-811, a Block V Virginia-class...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/19/electric-boat-awarded-2-4-billion-for-2nd-fy-2021-virginia-class-attack-boat

Navy’s Infamous INSURV Reports Set to End This Year Unless Congress Acts

Poster for USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) 2016. US Navy Photo

A long-standing independent report on the health of the U.S. Navy is set to end this year unless Congress acts, USNI News has learned.

The Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), founded by Battle of Mobile winner Adm. David Farragut in 1868 and cemented into law by Congress in 1882, is in charge of assessing ship readiness. The inspection body this month released its latest report, which could be...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/11/navys-infamous-insurv-reports-set-to-end-this-year-unless-congress-acts

INSURV Inspections Found Lower Material Readiness on Surface Ships, Subs

Rear Adm. Chris Engdahl, President of the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), and then Capt. Kyle Higgins, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), converse in the hangar bay aboard Ike in 2019. US Navy Photo

Navy ship readiness has trended down over the past three years, with many ship systems on surface ships and submarines, in particular, showing lower readiness scores in Fiscal Year 2020 compared to the recent average, according to the Board of...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/03/insurv-inspections-found-lower-material-readiness-on-surface-ships-subs

Huntington Ingalls Sees Record-Breaking 2020, Moving to Integrating Business Lines

Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo

After coming through 2020 with record sales and growing its unmanned systems portfolio through acquisitions and partnerships, Huntington Ingalls Industries plans to use that momentum in 2021 to integrate its different business lines to help its customers tackle more complex challenges, the company president said today.

Noting the hardship of the pandemic in 2020 but the optimism of coming through it in a strong position, HII President and CEO Mike...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/11/huntington-ingalls-sees-record-breaking-2020-moving-to-integrating-business-lines

Top Stories 2020: U.S. Navy Acquisition

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

2020 may be among the most consequential years for Navy acquisition in recent memory, with the service making big moves in support of its Distributed Maritime Operations operating concept.

2020 was the year the Navy officially started construction on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program, a massive...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/25/top-stories-2020-u-s-navy-acquisition