Launch of Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121) on 2018. HII Photo
With a two-aircraft carrier buy approved, contracts for two National Security Cutters and a contract for a guided-missile destroyer awarded late last year, Huntington Ingalls Industries has a healthy backlog of work to keep the company busy for the next several years, company officials said on Thursday.
HII Chief Executive Mike Petters also gave insight into what the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan looks like from the shipyard’s...
The color guard parade the ensign during a commissioning ceremony for the Virginia-class attack submarine USS South Dakota (SSN-790) on Feb. 2, 2019. US Navy Photo
USS South Dakota (SSN-790) joined the fleet Saturday as the 17th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine during a commissioning ceremony in Groton, Conn.
“South Dakota was built to be on scene and unseen, forward-deployed and ready to take the fight to our adversaries and protect our shores here,” Cmdr. Craig Litty, the commanding...
The Virginia-class attack submarine North Dakota (SSN-784) is rolled out of an indoor shipyard facility at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. US Navy Photo
General Dynamics Corp. plans to invest $1 billion in 2019 in upgrading and retooling its manufacturing operations company-wide, with a focus on its growing submarine construction business.
A plurality of this year’s capital expenditures – the reinvestment in manufacturing operations, commonly referred to as CapEx – will focus on...
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018. This story is part of USNI News year-end series.
F-35C Joint Strike Fighter
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 sits chained on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Dec. 9, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s F-35C had an important year, with the fighter seeing its...
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) prepares to pull into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. in 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – Maintenance backlogs continue to plague the Navy’s surface ship and attack submarine readiness, with the service losing the equivalent of 17 ships for operational tasking this year due to delays in getting repairs, according to an analysis from the Government Accountability Office.
“For fiscal years 2012-2018, our analysis for key portions of the Navy fleet shows...
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) transits Puget Sound while returning to Bremerton, Wash., for decommissioning. The 37-year-old Bremerton, commissioned March 28, 1981, is scheduled to begin the inactivation and decommissioning process at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in July. U.S. Navy photo.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said there are “no surprises” in a recent Government Accountability Office report that found the Navy has lost more than $1.5 billion...
Harpoon fired from USS Olympia on July 12, 2018. US Navy Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. – The undersea warfare community wants to boost attack sub lethality by providing new payloads for the Virginia-class SSNs, especially ones that can be leveraged through the Virginia Payload Module missile tubes that will be added to new-construction boats beginning this year.
Program Executive Office for Submarines Executive Director George Drakeley said at the two-day annual Naval Submarine League symposium last week...
https://news.usni.org/2018/11/14/navy-looking-use-virginia-payload-module-deploy-new-missiles-uuvs
Workers stand pose for a photo in the four-tube “quad-pack” built for the U.S. Ohio Replacement-class and U.K. Successor-class. General Dynamics Electric Boat Photo via US Navy
A problem with Columbia-class submarine missile tube welds is more serious than initially thought, causing the contractor responsible to set aside $27 million to cover repair work that is expected to take nearly a year.
BWX Technologies, the sub-contractor building missile tubes for Columbia-class ballistic missile...
The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) surfaces through the ice as it participates in Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s next class fast attack submarine will be designed for a return to blue-water great power competition, where the ability to support forces ashore is less important than operating in the open ocean hunting rival submarines, according to an analysis of the Navy’s 30 Year shipbuilding plan conducted by Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The...
Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kuzbass in 2016. Sputnik Photo
THE PENTAGON – Continued research and development into stealth technologies for U.S. submarines will be important as Russia continues research into undersea warfare and long-range missiles, the head of U.S. naval forces in Europe said on Friday.
Russia has “continued to pour rubles into the undersea domain research and development, because they know it’s a niche capability and they want to get better than us,” Adm. James Foggo said...
https://news.usni.org/2018/10/10/naveur-u-s-must-invest-undersea-tech-keep-ahead-russian-advances