The Navy has allocated $50 million for an affordability group that will attempt to take lessons learned from the Virginia-class attack sub cost-reduction program and apply it to the next-generation ballistic missile submarine program, according to a Navy official. 744 words

Naval Sea Systems Command is telling Congress that superstructure cracking in several classes of surface combatants is being addressed, but is in some cases proving costly. 597 words

The Navy's minesweeping abilities have "atrophied" in recent years, and the service hopes the arrival of the Littoral Combat Ship will help the service become strong in that area once again, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said last week. 326 words

The Navy is working on the requirements definition for its Mobile Landing Platform-turned-Afloat Forward-Staging Base, which the service expects to complete and have ready for congressional approval by May or June. 372 words

The Navy announced plans last week to award one-year fixed-price-incentive-type contracts for the first two lots of Broad Area Maritime Surveillance unmanned aerial systems. An April 11 notice on Federal Business Opportunities says that Naval Air Systems Command will award contracts to Northrop Grumman for low-rate initial production lots one and two, to be procured in fiscal year 2014 and FY-15, respectively. "This procurement is for the manufacture of three aircraft and one mission control system for production year FY-14 and four aircraft and related mission controls systems for production year FY-15," the notice states.95 words

A major challenge for the Aegis Ashore program is not the technical aspects, but rather the aggressive schedule, according to a Lockheed Martin executive. 361 words

Restoring the a Virginia-class attack submarine that had been cut in fiscal year 2014 aligns with the Obama administration's National Security Strategy due to a need for added presence in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Navy's program executive officer for submarines. 704 words

Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri have invested about $41 million into upgrades at the Marinette Marine Corporation's shipyard in Wisconsin to allow for more efficient work on the Littoral Combat Ships integration, helping to drive down the cost of the ships as the contracts roll out over the next few years. 924 words

BAE Systems has developed a high-powered microwave to disrupt, disturb or destroy any electronics it sweeps over, which could prove to be the nonlethal solution needed for a slew of Navy, Coast Guard and ground forces problems. 1177 words

As the Navy begins the process of replacing the legacy communications satellite constellation with the next-generation Mobile User Objective System, Boeing sees a future opportunity in the legacy Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) satellite market, according to a top company executive. 260 words

BAE Systems is delivering the first of 600 units from its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System low-rate initial production Lot 2 to the Marine Corps and expects to sign a full-rate production contract for about 1,000 units in the next 45 days. 592 words

The Pentagon is asking Congress to strike a law requiring the Navy to provide incremental funding for CVN-21 Ford-class aircraft carriers over five years, arguing that the service needs to stretch it out to six years for the second and third ships in the class. 419 words

The Navy has set its sights on 2023 to field the next-generation presidential helicopter that will replace legacy VH-3Ds and VH-60s, and the service has ongoing studies on replacing other logistics platforms, according to a 30-year aviation plan submitted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to Congress recently. 295 words

The Navy will see a big increase in strike fighter procurement funding in the coming years with the advent of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but the service will make deep cuts over that period to just about every other type of aircraft as the procurement of new platforms wraps up, according to the 30-year aviation plan submitted to Congress recently. 236 words

Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall approved the full production and fielding of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System portion of the Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS-JTRS) in a recent acquisition decision memorandum.209 words

Two MQ-8B Fire Scout crashes that led the Navy to suspend operations of the drones at sea and in Afghanistan are on track to trigger not only confidential safety reviews but also public Judge Advocate General investigations.569 words

A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashed April 11 in Morocco, killing two Marines during an annual exercise with the Moroccan military, said Navy and Marine Corps officials tracking the issue.898 words

The chief of naval operations and the Marine Corps commandant have formally declared their services have no unfunded requirements for fiscal year 2013 beyond the annual budget request submitted in February, waiving an opportunity to advance wish lists for additional military hardware that lawmakers in years past have used -- as the Pentagon's budget grew steadily over the last decade -- to add billions of dollars in defense spending.726 words

The Defense Department has detailed its long-term aircraft plans in a report that for the first time includes all military rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, operational support and executive aircraft programs -- providing unprecedented detail about the Pentagon's 10-year, $770-billion plan to sustain a fleet of more than 14,000 aircraft.805 words