Thursday, October 30, 2025
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.
The Navy intends to award Raytheon Technologies a contract for potentially three lots of its next-generation airborne electronic attack jamming system, which is set to replace the legacy ALQ-99 jamming pods on EA-18G Growlers.
Billions of dollars have been invested in the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base by the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, yet the effectiveness of these funds is difficult to determine -- made even more tedious by a lack of coordination between the two groups, according to the Government Accountability Office.
John Phelan, President Trump’s nominee to serve as the next Navy secretary, told lawmakers today that if confirmed, he will personally review all existing contracts and renegotiate them if needed.
The Navy is seeking responses from industry members and government organizations regarding counter-uncrewed systems -- specifically capabilities with a technology readiness level of five or higher -- according to a government notice issued today.
The Navy is progressing in testing across several ship programs, with advances that include the completion of key survivability testing for the lead Ford-class carrier.
The Navy is seeking additional sources for Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO) services meant to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance via unmanned aerial systems, according to a request for information issued Feb. 5.
A new unmanned surface vessel may result from talks between the Navy and lawmakers, following a year filled with debate over how to phase out larger, more bespoke systems in favor of a streamlined solution -- an effort industry has been heavily involved in as well.
The Marine Corps is conducting research to fulfill the second block of its navigation program, which aims to modernize positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, according to a request for information issued today.
Shipbuilder HII will focus on developing outsource partners for labor and production in the next year rather than acquiring more shipyards.
The Navy has awarded various contracts relating to the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship’s mine countermeasures mission package, all preceding an anticipated rollout of the package on the LCS later this fiscal year.
As hypersonic missile threats become more sophisticated, the importance of adequate testing grows, yet the Navy finds itself in a capability gap, according to the Pentagon chief weapons tester's annual report released last week.
The Navy plans to submit testing plans for milestones B and C for the MQ-25 Stingray program this spring, following years of production delays and budget reprogrammings.
Reliability issues with the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band noted in last year's annual report by the Pentagon's chief weapons tester have continued to plague the system, according to a new report released last week.
The Navy declared initial operational capability for the F/A-18 E/F Infrared Search and Track Block II system in November 2024, according to a Navy spokesperson -- a milestone that follows reliability problems found during operational testing.
The Navy is seeking information from contractors interested in contributing to the service's remote minehunting module program, following an industry day last summer.
SAN DIEGO -- The Navy needs industry to innovate faster, in ways that will allow the service to respond to rapidly evolving threats like those demonstrated in the Red Sea over the past year, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command said today.
SAN DIEGO -- A new Navy instruction for Operations in the Information Environment (OIE) is expected to be released this spring, a Navy official said today.
SAN DIEGO -- Following an eventful year for carrier aviation -- particularly in the Red Sea -- top Navy officials today pushed back against recent criticism that carriers may not be prepared for the future fight, or survivable against modern warfare.
SAN DIEGO -- The expansion of manned-unmanned teaming, investment in the submarine industrial base and completion of on-time maintenance availabilities are all actions needed to meet the Chief of Naval Operations' goal of an 80% combat surge-ready force, naval officials said today.
Shipbuilder HII's acquisition of the metal fabrication facilities and equipment of a South Carolina-based company has now closed, HII announced yesterday.