Virginia-class submarine

House Armed Services Committee Adds Money for EPF, Footstomps Need for Second Virginia SSN

Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo

The House Armed Services Committee reiterated its support for Navy shipbuilding today in an all-day markup of its annual defense bill, voting to include money for an additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and issuing an opening argument to the Senate for an additional Virginia-class attack submarine.

A key difference in the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is the Virginia SSN program....

House, Senate Defense Bills Differ In Approach to Indo-Pacific Security, But Stress Region’s Importance

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.

The House and the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/30/house-senate-defense-bills-differ-in-approach-to-indo-pacific-security-but-stress-regions-importance

House Defense Bill Pushes Hypersonic Weapons for Zumwalt Destroyers, Slows LUSV Procurement

Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on April 2, 2019. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee may force the Navy to begin integrating hypersonic weapons onto the Zumwalt class of destroyers, something the sea service has talked about but not prioritized in its budget.

The Navy was put in charge of developing a common hypersonic glide body that will ultimately serve as a conventional prompt...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/22/house-defense-bill-pushes-hypersonic-weapons-for-zumwalt-destroyers-slows-lusv-procurement

Navy Has ‘Mitigated’ Risk of Suspect Steel From Company in Federal Fraud Case

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

Sailors underway on submarines with steel from a company that pleaded guilty to providing the Navy with fraudulent materials aren’t at risk, the service’s top acquisition official told reporters on Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said the Navy had evaluated the potential risks for suspect steel that was used to build Navy submarines from...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/19/navy-has-mitigated-risk-of-suspect-steel-from-company-in-federal-fraud-case

NAVSEA Says Attack Sub Repairs Much Improved as USS Boise Enters Yard Following 4-Year Wait

The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise (SSN 764) enters Souda Bay, Greece, during a scheduled port visit on Dec. 23, 2014. Boise conducted naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe during its last deployment that ended in January 2015 — and the submarine has been awaiting a maintenance availability ever since, due to limited capacity in public and private yards. US Navy photo.

After years of struggling to...

Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Maker Sees Support For 2nd Virginia-Class Attack Boat in FY 2021

Virginia-class submarine Washington (SSN-787) under construction in 2016 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. HII Photo

Support for adding a second Virginia-class fast attack submarine to the Fiscal Year 2021 budget is growing on Capitol Hill, according to executives from BWX Technologies, the maker of the Navy’s nuclear propulsion units.

The $2.7-billion second Virginia-class submarine tops the Navy’s $5.4-billion unfunded priorities list for FY 2021. When President Donald Trump submitted his FY...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/05/navys-nuclear-propulsion-maker-sees-support-for-2nd-virginia-class-attack-boat-in-fy-2021

How to Keep Social Distance When Building a Warship

Dejon Butts welds in a submarine shop. Newport News Shipbuilding Photo

About a month after governments and employers began taking drastic actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, working from home and standing six feet apart at grocery stores have become rapidly the norm. But what about shipyard workers who cannot stay at home, who must work alongside colleagues to continue what has been deemed a mission-critical line of work?

Newport News Shipbuilding officials say their employees at their...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/07/how-to-keep-social-distance-when-building-a-warship

Modly: Parallel Fleet Studies Could Reshape Future of Aircraft Carriers

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transits the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 14, 2019. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy has taken several cracks over the years at trying to define a new future aircraft carrier, one that might be less expensive or less vulnerable.

But each time, the Navy has moved forward with the nuclear-powered supercarrier concept, in part because it provides an unmatched sortie-generation capability, and in part, because it’s built by a workforce that would be tough or impossible...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/12/modly-parallel-fleet-studies-could-reshape-future-of-aircraft-carriers

Lawmakers Still Lack Details on Pentagon Shipbuilding Plan

USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) during construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. BIW photo

Two senior lawmakers said they don’t have enough information to evaluate the Trump administration’s “hard rudder turn” on its shipbuilding budget that was presented last month to Congress.

“We’re weeks away from having to put this thing away,” and his panel doesn’t have the documents it requires for oversight, Rep. Joe Courtney, (D-Conn.), said on Monday at the Hudson Institute. Secretary of Defense...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/10/lawmakers-still-lack-details-on-pentagon-shipbuilding-plan

Wittman: Restoring 2nd Virginia Major Hill Goal for 2021 NDAA

Sailors aboard to Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Delaware (SSN-791) on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Restoring funding for a second Virginia-class fast-attack submarine in Fiscal Year 2021 tops the list of priorities when lawmakers form the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act, said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.

The administration’s FY 2021 shipbuilding request is for $19.9 billion to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/04/wittman-restoring-2nd-virginia-major-hill-goal-for-2021-ndaa

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