Thursday, April 17, 2025
Key Issues Tariff impact Taiwan conflict Fighters for Selfridge
A proposed multibillion-dollar spending plan for the submarine industrial base within the Navy’s fiscal year 2025 budget request, combined with a pending supplemental spending package, are expected to improve Virginia-class submarine production to a rate of two vessels per year by FY-28, according to senior Navy officials.
The Navy is seeking $257.6 billion in fiscal year 2025 funding -- a modest 0.7% increase over the previous year's request -- in a budget that sees the service procuring fewer new ships and aircraft than expected and pushing the development of next-generation platforms further into the future in order to prioritize near-term readiness.
With the Navy set to unveil its fiscal year 2025 budget request on Monday, lawmakers are signaling their disapproval for a rumored reduction in Virginia-class submarine procurement, suggesting Congress is likely to add a second vessel back to the budget if it's absent from the service's forthcoming request.
The United States shipbuilding industry could benefit from foreign investment, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today, indicating a "cash infusion" from an international shipbuilder could boost production capacity, drive down prices and inject competition into the domestic market.
Drone company Saildrone today announced it has launched the first aluminum Surveyor unmanned surface vehicle from shipbuilder Austal USA's production line, marking a step forward for a strategic partnership between the two contractors that aims to meet growing demand for uncrewed systems.
The Marine Corps has officially awarded contracts to Textron Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems to design and produce 30mm autocannon Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle prototypes, according to a Wednesday service announcement indicating the prototype vehicles will be delivered in fiscal year 2025.
As demand for munitions surges amid heightened global tensions, the Navy has launched a multibillion-dollar plan to fill critical industrial base gaps by revitalizing the government-run production of solid-rocket motors and other key energetics at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith has returned to full duty status following an Oct. 29 heart attack and a subsequent open-heart surgery and four-month recovery period, according to a March 5 announcement from the service.
As demand for munitions surges amid heightened global tensions, the Navy has launched a multibillion-dollar plan to fill critical industrial base gaps by revitalizing the government-run production of solid-rocket motors and other key energetics at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.
In a letter addressed to the Pentagon's director of cost assessment and program evaluation, two senior members of the House Armed Services Committee urged the inclusion of multiship procurement authority for amphibious warships in the Defense Department's soon-to-be-released fiscal year 2025 budget request.
The Navy this week selected technology company Sigma Defense to serve as its "autonomy baseline manager," a role that will help guide the integration of software for autonomous systems across the service, according to a Feb. 26 Pentagon contract announcement.
The Navy has awarded shipbuilder HII a contract modification worth approximately $1.2 billion for the engineering overhaul of the Los Angeles-class submarine Boise (SSN-764), according to a Pentagon contract announcement.
The Marine Corps passed its fiscal year 2023 audit, according to senior officials, who today announced they received an "unmodified audit opinion" from an independent public accountant after a two-year review of the service's equipment and its financial and information control systems.
Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) today signaled his opposition to a possible move by the Navy to reduce Virginia-class submarine procurement to only one vessel in fiscal year 2025.
The Marine Corps will award two separate contracts to Textron Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems for the design and construction of a new Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle prototype outfitted with a 30mm medium-caliber autocannon.
SAN DIEGO -- With the release of the Pentagon's fiscal year 2025 budget request only weeks away and no FY-24 appropriations in sight, senior Navy officials this week raised the alarm on the consequences of budgetary dysfunction and the possibility that it could stretch to a full year, citing serious funding misalignments and impaired military readiness.
SAN DIEGO -- Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro today questioned the defense industry’s commitment to delivering naval capabilities on time and on budget, suggesting some unnamed companies are prioritizing stock prices and executive compensation over necessary capital investments, and promising to take legal action to ensure taxpayers receive adequate return on investment.
SAN DIEGO -- Naval Sea Systems Command is planning an at-sea demonstration of the developing Transportable Re-Arming Mechanism, a capability aiming to re-arm a warship’s missile tubes while underway, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today.
SAN DIEGO -- The Marine Corps needs to get comfortable with more risk -- both technical and financial -- within its acquisition system to expeditiously field warfighting capabilities in the face of heightened great power competition, according to Brig. Gen. David Walsh, who leads Marine Corps Systems Command, the service’s chief acquisition body.
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Pacific Fleet will stand up a second unmanned surface vessel squadron in May as the Navy pushes to develop uncrewed and autonomous systems, the presumptive new head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said today, while indicating that the service is deliberately withholding specific information on its developing unmanned capabilities.