DefenceTalkBudget pressures at the Pentagon have renewed a debate about the value of the US Navy’s giant aircraft carriers, with critics arguing the warships are fast becoming costly relics in a new era of warfare. With the Pentagon facing $500 billion in cuts over the next decade, a Navy officer has dared to question the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/are-us-navys-super-carriers-a-relic-of-wars-past-47254/

DefenceTalkJoint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) 2, the future USNS Choctaw County, conducted builder’s sea trials March 7-8, in Mobile, Ala. The ship, now under construction at Austal USA, is the second ship of the JHSV class. Builder’s trials are a significant step in the construction and delivery of a ship to the fleet and are […]https://www.defencetalk.com/jhsv-2-successfully-completes-builders-trials-47161/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a contract valued at more than $71 million to produce six additional next-generation Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. The Fire Scout endurance upgrade, designated the MQ-8C and based on Bell Helicopter’s 407, will provide ship commanders with increased range, endurance and payload capacity over the current MQ-8B […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-to-produce-more-fire-scouts-for-us-navy-47144/

DefenceTalkThe Navy’s first mobile landing platform ship, USNS Montford Point (T-MLP 1), was christened at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, March 2. Owned and operated by Military Sealift Command, Montford Point was christened by its sponsor, Alexis “Jackie” Bolden, the wife of current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Gen. James F. Amos, Commandant […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usns-montford-point-christened-in-san-diego-47025/

DefenceTalkBy Rear Adm. Sean Buck, Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group When I first started this journey, there were 24 active-duty operational squadrons and more than 240 P-3s in the fleet. Today, the force consists of 12 active-duty patrol squadrons with fewer than 85 of 132 P-3s available on flight lines in the fleet. Last year, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-operational-p-8a-squadron-prepares-for-deployment-46967/

DefenceTalkDuring a media availability Feb. 21, Navy officials announced the Littoral Combat Ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) is on track to begin its first deployment March 1. This milestone was announced by the LCS Council, a group established by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert Aug. 22, to oversee continued fleet testing and the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-littoral-combat-ship-to-deploy-in-march-46931/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy delivered two more 35-meter patrol boats (PB-310 and PB-311) to the Iraqi navy at the Umm Qasr naval facility in Iraq, Feb. 17, after each craft successfully completed reactivation in Bahrain. These are the 10th and 11th vessels in the 12-boat procurement which will assist in reconstituting Iraq’s ability to enforce maritime […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-delivers-two-coastal-patrol-boats-to-iraq-46915/

DefenceTalkCommander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command sent a personal for message to commanders and commanding officers Feb. 8 about how he plans to maintain fleet readiness through fiscal uncertainty. Adm. Bill Gortney sent the message to discuss some of the impacts on the fleet following Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s approval to delay the scheduled deployment […]https://www.defencetalk.com/fleet-forces-outlines-fiscal-impact-on-readiness-for-commanders-46755/

DefenceTalkThe aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) will not start due to a lack of funding, the Navy said Feb. 8. Lincoln was expected to move to Newport News shipyard next week to begin the overhaul. However, as a result of the fiscal constraints resulting from the ongoing continuing resolution […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lack-of-funding-affects-uss-lincoln-refueling-and-complex-overhaul-46719/

DefenceTalkThe deployment of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg to the U.S. Central Command area of operations has been delayed, according to a statement issued today by Pentagon Press Secretary George Little. The Secretary of Defense has delayed the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uss-truman-uss-gettysburg-deployment-delayed-46696/