Abby Shepherd

Abby Shepherd is a Navy reporter. Before joining Inside Defense in November 2023, she was an intern with Politico's E&E News and a city government reporter with the Eudora Times in Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas in May 2023, with degrees in journalism and political science.

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Archived Articles
Daily News | May 8, 2025

The Pentagon's chief weapons tester was not consulted and did not sign off on a Navy decision to forgo a milestone B test and evaluation master plan update for the MQ-25 Stingray program, despite the service's initial plan to submit the update to the office of the director of test and evaluation by the end of March.

Daily News | May 8, 2025

Since the establishment of a nuclear-armed, sea-launched missile program office in March 2024, the Navy remains on track to achieve a key milestone by next year, as it assesses potential warhead options and researches how to best integrate the missile into Virginia-class submarines, a service official told lawmakers Wednesday.

The Insider | May 7, 2025

The Navy is requesting industry input on a potential long-range, tactical unmanned aircraft system that would be used by an international partner for maritime domain awareness as well as search and rescue operations.

Daily News | May 6, 2025

The operation to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Defense Department's joint logistics over-the-shore (JLOTS) capability in 2024 faced significant challenges, DOD's inspector general announced Friday, including a lack of interoperability between the Army and Navy.

Daily News | May 2, 2025

The Pentagon plans to add $150 million to its nuclear-armed sea-launched missile (SLCM-N) program in fiscal year 2025 and make several other adjustments to Navy research and development efforts in accordance with non-binding recommendations from congressional appropriators.

Daily News | May 1, 2025

Recent investments, or “tailwinds,” in shipbuilding are positive, and require HII’s participation, CEO Chris Kastner said today.

Daily News | April 30, 2025

A host of changes to V-22 Osprey components will ensure aircraft safety is improved overall, an official said today, following a series of crashes in recent years and subsequent groundings.

Daily News | April 30, 2025

Navy Secretary John Phelan has directed the termination of a $300 million information technology contract known as the MyNavyHR Transformation Initiative, a five-year plan meant to modernize the Navy’s human resource systems.

Daily News | April 30, 2025

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers today reintroduced the SHIPS for America Act -- a bill initially brought forward last year with the purpose of revitalizing the domestic maritime industry.

Daily News | April 29, 2025

The Marine Corps is aiming to release an updated roadmap for robotic and autonomous systems soon, an official said today.

The Insider | April 29, 2025

Defense start-up Epirus announced the delivery of a new counter-drone capability to Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren today -- a system meant to support the Marine Corps.

The Insider | April 23, 2025

Navy Secretary John Phelan announced Tuesday he is rescinding the Navy's Climate Action 2030 program, instituted during the Biden administration.

The Insider | April 21, 2025

Last week, President Trump's executive order marked the start of a new push to rejuvenate the domestic maritime industry, but achieving the order's ambitions will require Congress to play a significant role, lawmakers and analysts told Inside Defense this week.

Daily News | April 18, 2025

Last week, President Trump's executive order marked the start of a new push to rejuvenate the domestic maritime industry, but achieving the order's ambitions will require Congress to play a significant role, lawmakers and analysts told Inside Defense this week.

The Insider | April 9, 2025

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Lawmakers today expressed concern with the Navy's Constellation-class frigate program -- which is filled with delays and design changes -- questioning if the program should be scrapped altogether.

Daily News | April 9, 2025

The delivery date of the John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) aircraft carrier to the Navy has been pushed back, an official told lawmakers Tuesday.

The Insider | April 8, 2025

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Fairbanks Morse Defense has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries today at Sea-Air-Space, an agreement which will seek to further shipbuilding capabilities.

Daily News | April 8, 2025

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Rather than have individual shipyards draft contracts for outsourced labor, there will soon be one main contract the Navy will be able to draw from for the purpose of expanding outsourced labor for ship and submarine repair, a Navy official said on Tuesday.

Daily News | April 8, 2025

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Ultra Maritime and Anduril have partnered to further low-cost and low-risk submarine detection capabilities by bridging their respective sensing and autonomous technologies, according to a news release issued Monday.

The Insider | April 8, 2025

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Re-arming at sea is a Navy priority that has been front of mind amid logistical challenges in the Red Sea, a Navy official said today at Sea-Air-Space.

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