WASHINGTON: The Navy’s biggest amphibious exercise in a decade, Bold Alligator, is not specifically designed to counter Iranian threats in the Persian Gulf. But it comes awfully close, according to two senior service officials. The joint Navy and Marine Corps exercise is geared toward honing the services’ amphibious warfare capabilities. Training operations began this week… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has started to caveat its grand strategic mantra of a “pivot to Asia” – i.e. shifting from the land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to preparing for “AirSea Battle” against China. In the Defense Budget Priorities released yesterday and, most critically, in Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s press conference explaining them, the emphasis… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is again looking to its submarine fleet to fill a long-standing desire for a Prompt Global Strike weapon. The Navy will finance work on an “undersea conventional prompt global strike option” as part of its share of DoD’s $525 billion budget request for Fiscal 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said during today’s… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: With the Navy’s fleet set to shrink over the next decade, service leaders are pushing hard to keep what ships they have left combat ready. With the sea service to take on the large share of the Pentagon’s Western Pacific strategy, the Navy is looking to push every ready hull out to sea. But… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Navy sails on the cusp a new “golden age” of seapower despite the fact that it will have one of the smallest fleets in recent history, a top service leader believes. While actual ship numbers have dropped, the Navy has roughly the same number of large warships — cruisers, destroyers and aircraft carriers… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Sen. Susan Collins blasted the “highly politicized” nature of Congress, questioning whether lawmakers can resolve any of the major problems facing it, including the threat of sequestration. Collins, one of the few surviving Republican moderates on the Hill, noted the positive results for the Navy in the fiscal 2012 defense appropriations during her speech… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Navy’s premiere combat helicopter and unmanned drone can now operate in tandem during future combat operations after successfully completing initial tests late last year. Officials at Naval Air Systems command were able to link up the Lockheed Martin-built MH-60 Sierra with Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout unmanned drone during a series of operational evaluations… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Navy could abandon its long-standing goal for a 313-ship fleet in its new force structure plan to meet the needs of the White House’s new national security strategy. Navy leaders are in the midst of drafting a new force structure assessment, according Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson. That new… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: As the Navy prepares to push further into the Western Pacific, service leaders are doing all they can to prepare their warships for potential cyberattacks, the head of the Navy’s surface warfare fleet said today. Cyberwarfare remains the preeminent threat to U.S. naval forces around the world, Vice Adm. Richard Hunt, commander of naval… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Navy has long touted the Littoral Combat Ship’s multimission abilities to support U.S. forces. But the next-generation warship will also be key role in supporting America’s allies across the globe. The Navy is pursuing an “aggressive fielding” strategy to get the LCS into the fleet, Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, director of the service’s… Keep reading →