![At the deckplates, in the field during a global Navy exercise [PHOTOS]](https://breakingdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/Ike-Island-scaled-e1692707592835.jpg)
![At the deckplates, in the field during a global Navy exercise [PHOTOS]](https://breakingdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/Ike-Island-scaled-e1692707592835-225x150.jpg)
The Navy’s Large Scale Exercise 2023 took place around the world from Aug. 9 to Aug. 18, but its central leadership was based in Norfolk, Va.
By Justin KatzTop defense insights from 2024
A curated look at standout opinions and analysis covering topics like uncrewed systems, NATO partnerships, US-Saudi defense dynamics, and evolving warfare strategies, spotlighting key issues shaping the global defense landscape.
Headlines have celebrated the carrier’s new F-35s — but the Navy also added upgrades to the Vinson for the MQ-25 refueling drone, which could be a game-changer for future ops.
By Paul McLeary
“It’s pretty well-known now that our homeland is no longer a sanctuary,” Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, Submarine Forces Atlantic says. “So we have to be prepared here to conduct high-end combat operations in local waters.”
By Paul McLeary
Whether the ship can be repaired is a question Pentagon leaders will grapple with in coming weeks, along with discussions over the US presence in the Pacific, and the Navy’s modernization schedule.
By Paul McLeary
Monday may have marked a turning point for how the Navy, and perhaps the Pentagon, is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, raising questions over how deeply it might cut into military operations and what toll it will take on military readiness and operations.
By Paul McLeary
Thomas Modly pushed hard, and knew presidential ire was only one tweet away. How much did that influence his actions on the Roosevelt?
By Paul McLeary
The Navy’s Osprey differs from the Marine Corps and Air Force versions, boasting an enhanced fuel capacity, which required wing modifications to deal with the greater weight.
By Robbin Laird
The Weekly Break Out web news show
Coming in 2025! The Washington Monument is an iconic part of Washington. There’s something else monumental coming to defense in DC in 2025.
As dozens of US and allied warships operate in the Pacific, trailed by a Chinese spy ship, the Trump administration debates selling new F-16s to Taiwan.
By Paul McLeary
JSF HQ: Lockheed Martin “could be much more collaborative and cooperative but they aren’t,” the head of the Joint Strike Fighter program, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, told reporters today. “They could, but they choose not to.” Winter’s comments are not nearly as searing as those of his predecessor Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who famously said…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: The fleet needs smaller, cheaper aircraft carriers than the badly over budget, behind schedule Gerald Ford, ex-Navy pilot John McCain has long argued. No way, “Bigger Aircraft Carriers Are Better,” declares a recent National Interest article – widely publicized by the carrier industry’s advocacy group, ACIBC – citing a study that RAND did for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. WASHINGTON: Lasers. On the F-35B. Ok, there’s no money, And no timetable. But the head of Marine requirements, Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, told reporters he could “absolutely” see the Joint Strike Fighter armed with lasers. This is consistent with plans we’ve heard from Northrop Grumman for the notional sixth-generation fighter and with the heavy push…
By Colin Clark
When the Marine Corps developed the V-22 Osprey in the 1980s, the vision was pretty simple: fly troops ashore in amphibious assaults launched from beyond the range of anti-ship missiles. Now they’re turning the Osprey into a gas station. The Marines clearly envision the tiltrotor as a sort of flying Swiss Army knife. One clear example…
By Richard Whittle
The V-22 Osprey will reach the eight-year mark in its operational deployment history this September. The Osprey-enabled assault force is redefining ways to think about the insertion and withdrawal of force and new ways to engage, prevail and disengage. The program has reached a critical turning point – can the Osprey be purchased by allies, and be…
By Robbin Laird
ABOARD USS WASP: When the Marines decided to bring the press aboard the USS Wasp for the F-35B’s first set of operational tests — takeoffs, landings and flights designed to nearly simulate combat conditions — they provided the world with a glimpse of how they will fight using amphibious ships, F-35Bs and V-22 Ospreys. We…
By Colin Clark
