The Navy has overhauled plans for its Joint Precision Approach and Landing System, reducing near-term spending spending by $1 billion, cutting procurement by 27 percent and accelerating development to support the Joint Strike Fighter and the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System, according to service officials.
Ships & Submarines
April 18, 2014
The Navy has postponed the commissioning of the North Dakota (SSN-784) -- the lead ship of the Block III Virginia-class submarine program -- due to incomplete work on its redesigned bow and other issues, according to the service.
April 18, 2014
The Navy is actively looking at a common combat system for the two variants of the Littoral Combat Ship, having briefed Navy leadership and conducted a business case for the concept already, according to LCS program officials.
April 18, 2014
The MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter will take part in a concept of operations assessment for the Littoral Combat Ship's anti-surface warfare mission package in early May aboard the Freedom (LCS-1), bringing together the LCS seaframe, MH-60 helicopters and the unmanned system for the first time, according to a Navy official.
April 18, 2014
The Navy's plan to place 11 guided-missile cruisers in reduced operating status while they are modernized would be funded through the realization of $6 billion in savings from reduced operations and maintenance costs over the phased modernization period, as well as through a $2.2 billion fund established by congressional appropriators.
April 18, 2014
Facing budget constraints and another potential round of sequestration cuts, the Navy, and specifically the surface Navy, needs to focus its efforts on making ships more lethal and offensive, according to a Navy official.
April 18, 2014
Raytheon is developing a longer-range, fire-and-forget version of its Griffin tactical missile, with an eye toward eventually deploying the weapon as part of the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship surface warfare mission package, Inside the Navy has learned.
April 17, 2014
The size of the Pentagon's major weapon system acquisition portfolio held steady over the last year at $1.6 trillion, with seven programs added and six programs removed because they are near the end of the procurement cycle.
April 11, 2014
The Navy does not have the time to develop a wholly new
design for a small surface combatant, one of the options being looked at by a
Navy task force set up to address survivability and lethality gaps associated
with the Littoral Combat Ship program, a top Navy official said last week.
April 11, 2014
An influential lawmaker who could be the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said last week that he will push Congress to fund a 12th LPD-17 San Antonio-class amphibious ship in fiscal year 2015 as a bridge to a notional LX(R) amphibious ship replacement program.
April 11, 2014
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) last week
urged the Pentagon to redirect $2 billion from the Defense Department's budget
to the Navy's shipbuilding account, a move he argued would cover all of the
service's planned shipbuilding efforts aside from replacing the Ohio-class
submarines.
April 11, 2014
The Navy's plan to modernize 11 out of a fleet of 22 guided missile cruisers will lead to more than $6 billion in cost savings for the service, a top Navy official said last week.
April 11, 2014
The Navy plans to meet with Lockheed Martin and Austal, the builders of the Littoral Combat Ship, to
discuss how best to proceed with an odd number of ships in the Navy's fiscal
year 2015 budget request, according to the Navy's top acquisition executive.
April 11, 2014
The Navy will soon begin talking to shipbuilders about how
best to leverage a possible cross-class buy of Virginia-class submarines and
Ohio-class replacements, and when those companies might need to start making
investments, according to the Navy's top weapons buyer.
April 11, 2014
The Navy will be opting for Lockheed Martin's Longbow Hellfire
missile over Raytheon's Griffin missile to support the surface warfare (SuW) mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship due to
its targeting capabilities, according to a program official.
April 11, 2014
An amphibious ship shortfall is hampering Marine aviation efforts in the Pacific, according to a Marine Corps official, who added it could also impact Army aviators as that service rebalances its focus on the region.
April 10, 2014
A funding shortfall affecting the Navy's nuclear reactor program could push back by six months the construction schedule for the lead ship of the Ohio-class replacement submarine program, according to top Navy officials.
April 10, 2014
Huntington Ingalls Industries executives will meet later this month with the Missile Defense Agency to discuss a new ballistic missile defense ship concept based on an LPD Flight II hull design, a capability the shipbuilder believes could contribute to Ballistic Missile Defense System improvements being considered by the Pentagon for the early 2020s.
April 9, 2014
The Navy's plan to modernize 11 out of a fleet of 22 guided missile cruisers will lead to more than $6 billion in cost savings, according to a top service official.
April 8, 2014
The Navy's plan to delay a decision on the fate of the George Washington aircraft carrier will add a year of lag time to the ship's refueling and complex overhaul if the Pentagon ultimately opts to keep the ship in the fleet, according to Huntington Ingalls Industries officials.