Nick Wilson

Nick Wilson is a Navy reporter. Before joining Inside Defense in August 2022, he was an intern with Marketplace and a reporter with the Daily Mining Gazette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He is a graduate of Boston College.

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Daily News | April 23, 2024

The Navy is planning to use multiship procurement to buy four amphibious warships and aims to put the vessels on contracts within a matter of weeks, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today.

Daily News | April 17, 2024

The Navy today unveiled a series of new initiatives to tackle shipbuilding delays by refining contracting strategies, improving collaboration with industry and strengthening the workforce involved in designing, contracting and building naval vessels.

Daily News | April 17, 2024

The Navy is preparing to test two counter-drone weapon systems during a June demonstration in a rapid capability effort that aims to equip destroyers with a kinetic, counter-UAS capability at a fraction of the cost of Standard Missiles.

Daily News | April 16, 2024

The Navy has used nearly $1 billion in munitions to intercept missiles and drones in the Red Sea, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today, telling Senate appropriators it is critical that Congress pass a pending supplemental spending package to begin replacing these interceptors.

Daily News | April 15, 2024

The Marine Corps has selected Teledyne FLIR, Anduril Industries and AeroVironment to develop and deliver Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) -- a loitering munitions system intended to provide infantry Marines with a beyond-line-of-sight, precision-strike capability.

Daily News | April 15, 2024

The Navy is asking Congress for the authority to enter into a block-buy contract during fiscal years 2025 or 2026 for up to 37 CH-53K helicopter airframes, according to a legislative proposal submitted by the Defense Department on Friday.

Daily News | April 11, 2024

Procuring a fleet of 18 Landing Ship Mediums will cost $340 to $430 million per ship in fiscal year 2024 dollars, according to a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate, which indicates acquisition costs will be two to three times greater than the Navy’s own estimates.

The Insider | April 11, 2024

The Navy’s Science and Technology Advisory Board will convene at the end of April to deliver classified recommendations to service leaders on ways for the Navy and Marine Corps to quickly integrate disruptive technologies, a Thursday announcement states.

The Insider | April 10, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy aims to increase the number of parts produced through metallic additive manufacturing and equipped on submarines from "a couple" today to "near 100" by year's end, Executive Director of Strategic Submarines Matt Sermon said at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference.

Daily News | April 9, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy does indeed have a plan to remedy shipbuilding challenges, the service's top official said today, providing the first public indication that there is a strategy to tamp down widespread delays identified across its most critical ship and submarine programs.

Daily News | April 9, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- A long-endurance autonomous vessel currently under development with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is slated to transition to the Navy in 2025 following an initial round of testing, according to Capt. Scot Searles, program manager for unmanned maritime systems.

Daily News | April 9, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Marine Corps is now planning to launch its initial CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter deployment in calendar year 2026, program manager Col. Kate Fleeger said today, marking a delay of roughly a year compared to the 2025 deployment date previously listed by the service.

The Insider | April 8, 2024

Contractor BAE Systems has received a $79 million contract modification to produce three production-representative test vehicles for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle Recovery variant, according to a Pentagon announcement.

Daily News | April 8, 2024

With the Navy's highest-ranking officials set to appear before Congress this week for their first fiscal year 2025 budget hearing, lawmakers are weighing the implications of a new shipbuilding review that identified months-long delays across critical acquisition programs.

The Insider | April 8, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Lockheed Martin and Intel subsidiary Altera have been contracted by the office of the under secretary of defense for research and engineering to develop an electronic defense capability that could eventually be equipped on the Navy’s MH-60R helicopter fleet, according to a Monday announcement published ahead of the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference.

The Insider | April 8, 2024

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Drone company Saildrone today announced a new partnership with Thales Australia to equip autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles with a towed-array sonar payload to support anti-submarine warfare missions.

Daily News | April 3, 2024

The Navy can't "buy its way out" of the problems facing key acquisitions programs, a senior official said today, though the service is still determining exactly what it can do to alleviate widespread delays across high-priority submarine and ship acquisition programs.

Daily News | April 2, 2024

Delivery of the lead Columbia-class submarine is now expected to occur at least a year later than initially planned, while Virginia-class submarines are more than two years behind their contracted schedule, according to a Navy shipbuilding review that identifies significant schedule challenges across the service's ship and submarine portfolio.

Daily News | April 2, 2024

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith today released a "Fragmentary Order" document, intended to provide interim direction for the force ahead of an official Commandant's Planning Guidance, that reaffirms the service's force design modernization trajectory.

Daily News | March 29, 2024

After delivering an initial prototype in December, Boeing plans to turn over the remaining five Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles to the Navy before the end of 2025, according to company executives and service budget documents.

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