Inside the Navy highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Navy:

1. The Pentagon's acquisition executive has approved the Standard Missile-3 Block IB for full production, paving the way for the Missile Defense Agency to advance its first proposal to negotiate a multiyear procurement contract.

Full Story: DOD clears SM-3 Block IB for full production, MDA seeking MYP in FY-19

2. Budget uncertainty may stall a contract award this spring to construct an F-35B vertical lift-fan test facility at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, to support depot-level maintenance.

Full Story: Budget uncertainty may hinder F-35B depot-level maintenance

3. President Trump came into office a year ago promising to grow the Navy to 350 ships, a vow cheered by shipbuilders and congressional supporters.

Full Story: A year in, Trump administration yet to lay budget groundwork for 350-ship Navy

4. The Navy is "not declaring victory" over the problem of pilots suffering physiological episodes in the T-45C Goshawk trainer or the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet although rates of occurrence have greatly decreased in the trainers.

Full Story: Navy ‘not declaring victory’ in on physiological episodes