Trump's Navy

[AdamG]

WASHINGTON—The Navy and its industry partners are “under cyber siege” by Chinese hackers and others who have stolen tranches of national security secrets in recent years, exploiting critical weaknesses that threaten the U.S.’s standing as the world’s top military power, an internal Navy review has concluded

https://www.wsj.com/articles/navy-in...ts-11552415553

[AdamG]

THE PENTAGON – As the Navy faces more complex threats to its manned ships from Russia and China, the service is moving quickly to field an unmanned “Ghost Fleet” — a new breed of armed unmanned surface combatants will add more sensors and weapons to the current fleet.

In Fiscal Year 2020, the Navy has budgeted $400 million for two of the proposed large unmanned surface vehicles in its research and development budget line. The Navy plans to continue buying two a year until FY 2024, for a total of about $2.7 billion.

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/13/nav...al-ghost-fleet

[AdamG]

For the past three months, the crew of the dock landing ship Fort McHenry has been stuck at sea, avoiding port because of an outbreak of disease. But Navy officials bristle at the mention of a “quarantine.”

They point out that only 25 of more than 700 sailors and Marines have been diagnosed with viral parotitis, an infection that triggers symptoms similar to mumps, with fever, dehydration and chills reported in about 3.5 percent of the service members on board the Florida-based warship.

Instead, they say that “Fort McHenry’s operational schedule has been modified while the ship’s medical team monitors crew health,” according to a prepared statement by the 5th Fleet that was recirculated by the Navy’s Chief of Information Office at the Pentagon.

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-...ime-and-germs/

[AdamG]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the next two years, the Navy wants to deploy a laser aboard a guided-missile destroyer as the service learns to integrate directed energy weapon systems on warships, the Navy’s director of surface warfare said on Wednesday.

“We are going to burn the boats if you will and move forward with this technology,” Rear Adm. Ron Boxall said during the Booz, Allen, Hamilton and CSBA Directed Energy Summit 2019.

The service is targeting 2021 to install a High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with Surveillance weapon system aboard a West Coast Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA destroyer, Boxall said.

The 60-kilowatt HELIOS, much more powerful than the 20-kilowatt laser weapon system the Navy tested aboard afloat forward staging base USS Ponce five years ago, is designed to counter small attack boats small unmanned aerial vehicles.

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/20/nav...tion-destroyer

[AdamG]

CAPITOL HILL – A competition for material between submarine construction and submarine maintenance is contributing to slowdowns in both, the Navy’s acquisition chief told USNI News today.

The Navy has more submarine maintenance to conduct than its four public shipyards can accommodate. As a result, the service has been shifting maintenance availabilities of its older Los Angeles-class attack boats to General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding.

However, maintenance work at both yards has run long. Three boats in maintenance now are running behind schedule and are creating unbudgeted expenses for the Navy. The unforeseen cost overruns were included in the Navy’s unfunded priorities list released this week to supplement the official Fiscal Year 2020 budget request.

At the same time, new-build Virginia-class submarines are struggling to meet their delivery dates. Modules are being moved between co-builders Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat behind schedule due to a variety of issues. One factor is late delivery of material and parts from the supply base, USNI News understands.

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/26/nav...w-construction