Navy

House lawmakers aim to mandate that the military services maintain a senior civilian position for energy, installations and environment, effectively halting a Navy proposal to install an assistant secretary for information management, according to a copy of the House Armed Services Committee's "chairman's mark" obtained by Inside Defense.

The United States is suspending Turkey, a key NATO ally, from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program for refusing to back out of a deal to procure a Russian-made missile defense system.

The Pentagon continues to wrestle with challenges and internal disagreements resulting from seismic congressional reforms that restructured its acquisition oversight process and gave the military services more direct control over major programs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

The House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee is seeking information from the Navy about the industrial base's ability to achieve the service's current goal of a 355-ship fleet.

The House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee plans to meet the Navy's request to approve three Virginia-class submarines in its portion of the fiscal year 2020 defense policy bill, charting a different course than its Senate counterpart and the House Appropriations Committee.

House lawmakers are proposing a measure to halt funding for development of a submarine-launched hypersonic strike weapon, a move that would upend Navy plans to develop a Conventional Prompt Strike weapon, citing concerns about the potential for miscalculation by adversaries that might mistake the planned new capability for a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile.

A House panel is enthusiastically backing the Navy's proposal to adapt a scaled-down version of the SPY-6 radar for the bulk of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer fleet, directing the service to draft a plan on the cost and technical feasibility of swapping out the legacy SPY-1 radar on the DDG-51 Flight IIA variants with a smaller version of the larger SPY-6 designed for the DDG-51 Flight III variant.

House lawmakers are proposing significant oversight of the F-35 program and the Air Force's plan to buy new F-15EX aircraft -- calling for more insight into the Joint Strike Fighter's Block 4 effort and recommending the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps develop a joint service cost position for the program.

Lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee, acting on concerns the Defense Department is investing too little in science and technology, have drafted legislation that would mandate accountability should the S&T portfolio be cut in the future.