Monday, December 4, 2023
Justin Katz was Inside the Navy’s associate editor until November 2020. He was previously a local news reporter in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. A New York native, he graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, with a bachelor’s degree in communication.
The White House Office of Management and Budget earlier this month directed the Pentagon to submit a legislative proposal that would "redefine a battleforce ship" to include unmanned vessels, an idea that has percolated throughout the Navy this past year, but one that top officials have resisted advocating.
The Navy this year began explaining to lawmakers, industry leaders and senior Pentagon brass how it believes the sea service will fight and operate in the future through a classified briefing dubbed the "Maritime Fight."
Congressional appropriators want to allow the Navy to source certain ship components from foreign vendors for the service's new frigate, but have set a time line for when those parts must be domestically produced.
Congressional appropriators are supporting the Navy's plans to buy two prototype unmanned surface vessels, but barred the service from initially pursuing conceptual designs that include a vertical launch system.
House and Senate authorizers are seeking a report from the Navy about the composition of the next-generation carrier and amphibious ship air wings.
Lawmakers are moving to slow the Navy's push for a new unmanned, corvette-sized vessel the service highlighted in its fiscal year 2020 budget, a move that follows a year of conversations between lawmakers and Navy officers about the maturity of unmanned systems.
House and Senate lawmakers are pressing the Navy to plan on purchasing an additional Virginia-class submarine in future spending requests after the service told Congress the original budget submission could not be executed. (UPDATED)
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly recently outlined his priorities as the service's interim top civilian and for the first time set a deadline, Jan. 15, 2020, to unveil the results of the latest force structure assessment that could affect the Navy's stated goal of 355 ships, according to a new memo obtained by Inside Defense.
A Marine Corps general overseeing weapons acquisition said today he is skeptical his service would receive program waivers under the current continuing resolution.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday has published his first strategic guidance to the fleet.
After already delaying two ship maintenance contracts in November, Navy officials today told Congress the current continuing resolution could delay five additional contract awards.
The Pentagon reprogrammed roughly $30 million to a special account for auxiliary vessels to maintain a dozen ships during the ongoing continuing resolution.
The Navy's methods for estimating the initial costs of its $21 billion plan to improve the four public shipyards create risks that "together could add billions to the ultimate cost," according to a government watchdog.
The Navy late last month continued implementing a host of structural changes to its acquisition directorates, according to a memorandum obtained by Inside Defense.
The Pentagon last month requested congressional approval to shift approximately $40 million to "correct deficiencies" found on the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford (CVN-78).
The Navy is pursuing an experimental effort to rapidly upgrade its older destroyers to a newer baseline of the Aegis combat system, according to a service official.
The recent changes to the Navy's acquisition directorates aim to give the acquisition executive a "holistic" view of the service's research and development, sustainment and programmatic enterprises, according to a senior Navy official.
A trade association representing the country's shipbuilders sent lawmakers a letter last week warning that another continuing resolution would lead to sizable reductions in its industry's workforce and operations.
The Navy has drawn up and is continuously updating a list of programs that may eventually require waivers from Congress under the ongoing continuing resolution, according to two top service officials.
The Navy last week declared its new satellite constellation "fully operationally capable" following the completion of a successful multiservice test event conducted in October.