‘Fight To Get To The Fight:’ Marine Amphibs Under The Gun

‘Fight To Get To The Fight:’ Marine Amphibs Under The Gun
‘Fight To Get To The Fight:’ Marine Amphibs Under The Gun

CAPITOL HILL: Threatened by hundreds of precision-guided munitions now in the hands of Russia and China, the Navy and Marine Corps continue to search for technologies and tactics that will allow them to operate close to the coastline without unsustainable losses. “We’re going to need long-range fires that can operate from a ship or from…

Upgrade Navy Networks To Get Most From F-35: Commandant Wants Quality

Upgrade Navy Networks To Get Most From F-35: Commandant Wants Quality
Upgrade Navy Networks To Get Most From F-35: Commandant Wants Quality

CAPITOL HILL: If the Commandant of the Marine Corps had one more dollar to spend — and he probably will with the recent budget deal — he’d use it to upgrade Navy ships’ electronics to take full advantage of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, he said this morning. The Marines’ new F-35Bs have the sensors to…

62 % Of F-18 Hornets Unfit To Fly, Up To 74% In Marines

62 % Of F-18 Hornets Unfit To Fly, Up To 74% In Marines
62 % Of F-18 Hornets Unfit To Fly, Up To 74% In Marines

UPDATED with Marine Corps data CAPITOL HILL: More than 60 percent of Navy and Marine Corps strike fighters are out of service, the Navy confirmed today. While 62 percent of fighters are effectively grounded, the overall figure for all naval aircraft is 53 percent. [UPDATE: With some of the oldest fighter jets in service, Marine Corps…

Do Marines Have To Hitchhike At Sea? The Real Story

Do Marines Have To Hitchhike At Sea? The Real Story
Do Marines Have To Hitchhike At Sea? The Real Story

WASHINGTON: Is the US Navy really so short of warships that Marines must catch a ride on foreign vessels, like heavily armed hitchhikers? The answer is, well, sort of. Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire — the Marines definitely could use more amphibious warfare ships — but on this story, politicians, lobbyists, and some of…

‘$1 Billion-Plus Short’: Hill’s Amphib Add Isn’t Enough, So Navy Wants To Repurpose It

‘$1 Billion-Plus Short’: Hill’s Amphib Add Isn’t Enough, So Navy Wants To Repurpose It
‘$1 Billion-Plus Short’: Hill’s Amphib Add Isn’t Enough, So Navy Wants To Repurpose It

CAPITOL HILL: Sometimes $800 million is not enough. Congress really, really wants the Navy to buy a 12th San Antonio­-class amphibious warship. The Marine Corps really, really wants the ship, which would be designated LPD-28. And of course shipbuilder Huntington-Ingalls really, really wants the contract, which would help fill a multi-year gap in amphib construction.…

HASC Puts Down Payment On 12th LPD — But Will Industry Ever See The Check?

HASC Puts Down Payment On 12th LPD — But Will Industry Ever See The Check?
HASC Puts Down Payment On 12th LPD — But Will Industry Ever See The Check?

[UPDATED with comment from Seapower Chairman Randy Forbes] “This is not a slam dunk. This is really the first step.” That’s the cautiously optimistic word from retired Navy captain Brian Schires, chairman of the recently formed Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition (AWIBC), on the $800 million the House Armed Services Committee just authorized towards the…

Can New Amphibious Ship Coalition Grow Grass Roots?

Can New Amphibious Ship Coalition Grow Grass Roots?
Can New Amphibious Ship Coalition Grow Grass Roots?

WASHINGTON: This town needs another lobbying organization like I need another hole in my head. But when everyone else has a “grass roots” group to help make their case to Congress, not having your own is a form of unilateral disarmament — an especially bad idea in a time of escalating budget wars. “Having a…