Navy Seeks Rail Guns, Lasers, Cruise Missiles To Improve Pacific Firepower

Navy Seeks Rail Guns, Lasers, Cruise Missiles To Improve Pacific Firepower
Navy Seeks Rail Guns, Lasers, Cruise Missiles To Improve Pacific Firepower

CRYSTAL CITY: “I’ve never wanted to enter any tactical scenario where all I had is a defensive capability. It’s a losing proposition,” said the chief of Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Locklear. “You will defend yourself until you’re dead.” That was the PACOM commander’s blunt and public response when I asked him about the chronic imbalance between…

From Paint To Littoral Combat Ships, Navy Scrambles To Save Dough

CRYSTAL CITY: From standardizing paint schemes to buying fewer types of valves, the Navy is going all-out to save money as budgets tighten. This new emphasis on affordability goes beyond the usual mundane economies to a sea change in how the service develops new vessels and technologies, with the much-criticized Littoral Combat Ship as the…

Navy Can’t Stay Ready So Must Shrink, Says Head of Surface Forces

[updated 9:45 am Wednesday with DOT&E data] CRYSTAL CITY: Navy crews don’t have enough sailors, training, or spare parts to keep up with operational demands, the Commander of Naval Surface Forces said bluntly this afternoon. The service needs to make better use of smaller budgets by standardizing equipment and adopting new training simulations, Vice Adm.…