Monday, April 29, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
Linda Hersey was a Navy reporter with Inside Defense until October 2023. She is a career journalist who most recently served as an Alaska-based political reporter covering the governor and legislature on issues that ranged from Arctic policy to the economy. Linda has a background in content management at nonprofits that include a STEM university and healthcare system.
The Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) will be fielded aboard the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet this year, where it will undergo more tests after experiencing delays from software changes to improve weapons-aircraft integration.
Protecting U.S. navigational rights and freedoms in Arctic waterways is key to keeping the Arctic region stable and secure, as thawing ice opens sea lanes and yields growing geopolitical competition for access to minerals critical to defense systems and other smart technologies, according to a Pentagon official.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told lawmakers Friday that he supports a 30-year shipbuilding plan that calls for the service to increase to 356 crewed ships by fiscal year 2042 and to 367 crewed ships by FY-53.
Applying zero trust across the information environment -- from ships and bases to mobile devices and national security systems -- is critical to safeguarding data, according to the Navy's chief technology officer.
The capability development document for the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel is drafted and will enter the staffing process for FY-23 approval by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, the Navy said.
The Navy is moving the initial operational capability (IOC) date for the MQ-25 Stingray back a year to 2026 to allow for sufficient time for testing the unmanned aerial fueling tanker, a service spokeswoman told Inside Defense.
Investing in vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft systems remains critical for naval forces to bridge "key warfighting gaps" and provide "transformational capabilities" as legacy rotary-wing platforms end service in the next decade, said Frederick Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition.
Meeting delivery schedules and managing the lingering effects of COVID-related supply chain delays continue to be headwinds in the production of rotary wing aircraft, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, deputy commandant for aviation, told House lawmakers Wednesday.
A $2.3 billion proposal to improve critical naval infrastructure at the nation's four public shipyards is part of the Defense Department's $14.7 billion request for military construction projects in fiscal year 2024.
The Navy's fiscal year 2024 construction budget includes $6 billion in projects to develop platforms and weapon systems, modernize utilities and reinvest in infrastructure, Defense Department leaders told a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.
China's expansion and modernization of its nuclear arsenal poses a growing risk to security in the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. military leaders told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
The Navy and Air Force risk deploying directed-energy weapons that do not meet operational needs without better processes for transitioning prototypes to fielded products, a new GAO report warns.
The Navy seeks to bring more urgency to moving innovative technologies in the lab to warfighting capabilities in the field, Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby said Thursday at a National Defense Industrial Association conference.
The Navy's capability development document that outlines requirements for developing large, unmanned surface vessels is underway and will be ready sometime this year, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday.
The Defense Department's first-of-its-kind plan to bulk-buy 516 Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) in fiscal year 2024 under a five-year contract would save $153.6 million and bring greater stability to the industrial base, according to the DOD comptroller's office.
With concern growing about upholding U.S. interests in Arctic waters, the Coast Guard is seeking $170 million in fiscal year 2024 to continue developing its tiny polar security cutter fleet. The cutters monitor sea traffic in a thawing Arctic, among other duties.
The Navy will field shipboard laser weapons "as rapidly as fiscal and industrial resources will allow," with the transition of critical research and development programs to operations prioritized, the service said.
The Navy once again is asking Congress to remove the Title 10 requirement for standing up a 10th carrier air wing (CVW) by Oct. 1, 2025.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- U.S. commercial shipping leaders, meeting Wednesday on the closing day of the Sea-Air-Space conference, voiced concern about ensuring strategic sealift capabilities to counter possible military aggression.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Russia's increased reliance on China since its invasion of Ukraine is heating up Arctic security concerns for the United States and its allies, according to a defense expert speaking at the Sea-Air-Space conference.