Saildrone CEO says Iranian interference was valuable experience, not a surprise
"If someone takes it, good luck. Keep it, it's worthless. We’ve got hundreds of them," said Richard Jenkins, chief executive officer of Saildrone.
Navy testing autonomous transit for high speed, cargo ship
EPF-13 is expected to be the first operational US Navy ship capable of autonomously transiting a commercial sea lane.
Modernizing defense enterprise IT without disrupting the mission
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
Navy’s Unmanned Plan Inches Forward; Ships To Have Crew Quarters
"It is too early to say where we will end up across that portfolio, but we are investigating a range of options via our prototyping efforts," Capt. Pete Small told the virtual Surface Navy convention
Navy Plans For Wartime Ship Surge; Looks To Small Commercial Yards
"We don't have enough capacity for peacetime” repairs, said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage. "We can't get ships delivered on time with the predictability we need today."
SOLIC Nominee Faces Questions On Khashoggi Killing, Social Media Posts
Sen. Tim Kaine said of the nomination, "Senators deserve answers to my questions about Tier 1’s role in training any Saudis implicated in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. I don’t feel comfortable moving forward on this nomination until I get answers."
Navy Kicks Off New LCS Deployments; Training Questions Remain
WASHINGTON: After years of delays, budget fights, and searing debates over the role that the ship will play, three Littoral Combat Ships will head out on their first deployments this year. “We’re deploying LCS this year. It’s happening. Two ships are going on the West Coast, one ship is going on the East Coast,” said […]
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Answering the demand signal to move faster, field sooner, iterate continuously
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
Frigate Design Awards By April; $950M Max, VLS Mandatory
UPDATED with CNO comment on importance of program CRYSTAL CITY: By the end of March, the Navy will award four to six contracts for “conceptual” designs of a future frigate. That ship that must cost under $950 million, have “Grade A shock hardening” on key systems to survive blasts, and carry at least 16 Vertical Launch […]
Industry Can Build 355 Ships, But Which Ones?
WASHINGTON: Sure, American industry can build the 355-ship fleet both Trump and the admirals want, three former Navy Secretaries said today. We can even build it a lot faster than most experts expect, but there are a lot of ifs. If we start using small shipyards that currently don’t build warships. If we streamline procurement, and, of […]
Austal Or Lockheed Gets 3rd LCS In 2017? Navy Says There IS A Plan…
Austal’s Alabama shipyard just got the first Littoral Combat Ship contract of 2017, an award of up to $548 million to build an Independence-class all-aluminum trimaran, the as-yet unnamed LCS-28. Lockheed Martin, which builds the steel-hulled Freedom-class LCS with Wisconsin shipyard Marinette Marine, is still in negotiations with the government, a Lockheed spokesman told me. […]
More Maintenance $$ Gets Navy To 355 Ships Sooner: NAVSEA
WASHINGTON: More money for maintenance would allow Navy ships to stay in service longer, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command said today, and accelerate the fleet’s growth to the Trump Administration’s avowed goal of 355 ships by “10 to 15 years with a relatively small investment.” The Navy’s current long-term plan assumes most warships […]
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Why enterprise IT modernization matters now – and how to “delight by design”
Do more with less: streamline workflows, reduce duplication, invest upfront to save long-term.
OMB ‘Supports’ Extra LCS, But Where’s The Money?
UPDATE: Source Says WH Will Fund LCS Add; CRS Naval Expert Comments CAPITOL HILL: In a startling turnabout, the Trump Administration now “supports” adding a $541 million Littoral Combat Ship to yesterday’s 2018 budget request, Navy officials told Congress this afternoon. What, exactly, does that mean? The Navy doesn’t know. Minutes before Navy witnesses were to testify […]
SASC Will ‘Help’ Trump On Navy’s 355-Ship Fleet: Sen. Wicker
CAPITOL HILL: Presidents propose; Congress disposes. President Trump’s shipbuilding budget for 2018 is a placeholder that legislators can increase, the chairman of the Senate seapower subcommittee told me this morning. After Sen. Roger Wicker chaired a hearing with shipbuilding executives, following a classified hearing with Navy leaders, I asked him about Trump’s budget. Despite Trump’s […]
Beyond LCS: Navy Looks To Foreign Frigates, National Security Cutter
[UPDATED with Sec. Stackley comments] WASHINGTON: The Navy is seriously considering derivatives of foreign designs and the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter for its new frigate, after three years pursuing an upgraded version of its current Littoral Combat Ship. The shift has shaken up the industry, panicking some players, while others quietly reposition: Other options got […]
Key SAC-D, SASC Senators Push More LCS
WASHINGTON: Eight senators sent a letter Friday to Defense Secretary James Mattis, urging him to request all three Littoral Combat Ships originally planned for the 2018 budget. While eight percent of the Senate may seem small, the bipartisan co-signers — four Republicans, four Democrats — include five members of the appropriating and authorizing and committees for […]