NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Bell, a Textron company, is marketing its manned and unmanned tiltrotor aircraft to be the eventual replacements for the Navy’s MH-60R/S helicopters. 

Carl Forsling, Bell’s senior manager for military sales and strategy, told Seapower April 4 at the Navy League’s Sea-Air Space expo that the Bell tiltrotors would be ideal for implementation of the Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations concept because of their speed, range and payload. 

The two tiltrotors are the versions of the unmanned Bell 247 Vigilant and the manned Bell 280 Valor.  

The Valor, currently offered as a replacement for the U.S. Army’s H-60 helicopters, is larger than the 247 and is designed to carry 8-12 passengers. It has two engines, one each at the wingtips driving a tiltrotor. Unlike those on the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, the engines do not pivot, simplifying the mechanics of the movement and reducing cost. The marinized Valor would have a pivoting wing like the V-22 for storage in a ship’s hangar. The aircraft would be hardened for electromagnetic protection and be marinized for corrosion control in the salt-water environment. It would assume the roles of the MH-60S, including plane guard, rescue, medical evacuation and logistics. 

The marinized unmanned Vigilant would replace the MH-60Rs on surface warships such as guided-missile destroyers. The folding rotors and pivoting wing would allow storage in a warships’ small helicopter hangars. The Vigilant could be used for roles including surveillance, antisubmarine warfare, precision strike and aerial refueling. 

With both aircraft replacing helicopters, the speed and range advantage would allow the tiltrotors to cover more area at a faster rate, Forsling said, while carrying heavier payloads.   

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Navy’s new CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor carrier-onboard delivery aircraft’s capabilities have been a game-changer for medical evacuation from a carrier strike group, the Navy’s V-22 program official said. 

The CMV-22B, which is replacing the catapult-launched C-2A Greyhound COD aircraft in the fleet, takes off and lands vertically. It is less dependent on carrier launch-and-recover cycles and, therefore, more flexible in its ability to quickly launch from the aircraft carrier and carry a medical patient to facilities ashore. 

In addition to quicker launch capability, the range of the CMV-22B — which can be refueled in flight—give it an added ability to reach land-based medical facilities from farther out. 

Marine Col. Brian Taylor, the Navy’s V-22 program manager, speaking April 4 to reporters at a Naval Air Systems Command (Booth 947) briefing the Navy League’s Sea-Air Space expo at National Harbor, Maryland, spoke of a medevac from the one of the two CMV-22B detachments from that have deployed on aircraft carriers to the Indo-Pacific region so far from Fleet Logistics Multimission Squadron 30 (VRM-30). A CVM-22B launched from the carrier with a medevac patient and was able to land in a helicopter landing pad at the naval hospital in Camp Foster, Okinawa, a feat that the C-2A would not have been able to accomplish. 

Taylor MV-22B integrated well with carrier operations. He also said the Marine Corps’ MV-22B Osprey has qualified to operate from the hospital ship USNS Mercy. 

The Osprey is operated by the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy and by the Japanese Self-Defense Force. 

Taylor said the Osprey is expected to be in service through 2055. It reached initial operational capability in 2007. Under current contracts, production is expected to end in late 2024. The program office is focusing on sustainment and keeping the flow of parts and other resources necessary to keep the Osprey fleet operational through its service life. 

Last year the Marine Corps deactivated one MV-22B squadron — VMM-166 — as part of Commandant Gen. David Berger’s Force Design 2030 initiatives. Faced with the possibility of excess MV-22Bs in inventory, Taylor said his office is looking at inventory management of the fleet to develop a long-term plan, with an option that some Ospreys may be placed in storage, available as attrition aircraft. 

NATIONAL HARBOR — We have often seen the rise and fall of new terminology to express renewed, or sometimes diminished, value placed upon different regions of the globe as the geography of national interests waxes and wanes. Until recently, the geographical expression that dominated foreign and national security policy documents of the United States in the Pacific region was “Asia-Pacific.” This term, however, is increasingly giving way to “Indo-Pacific” in national security policy documents and discourse, as can be seen in the Sea-Air-Space Show Guide and Directory.

What is prompting this evolution in geospatial conception? In large part, the shift to Indo-Pacific has been driven by two key factors: an observed increase in China’s interests in the Indian Ocean region and the increasing commercial, cultural, political, and security interconnections between the Indian and Pacific Ocean communities. The symbolic change to recognizing the Indo-Pacific as the now-dominant strategic region in the areas adjoining eastern Asia began with the Obama administration’s late 2011 “Pacific Pivot,” and continued with the Trump administration’s 2017 concept, the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” A year later, U.S. Pacific Command was renamed as the Indo-Pacific Command. Now, the Biden administration has published its own “Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States,” with remarkable similarities to the strategies of the previous administrations.

It’s worth considering though, what does the “Indo-Pacific” entail? Geographical concepts are inevitably contestable, as their construction is tailored to suit the purposes of the name-giver. In its most expansive interpretation, the Indo-Pacific can be thought of as the world’s largest region, spanning the distance from Russia’s Siberian coastal frontier and the beaches of California to the shores of South Africa and Oman. The broadly defined Indo-Pacific covers roughly half of the Earth’s surface and more than half its population. It is home to the world’s largest economies — the United States, China, Japan — and its smallest – Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu. The world’s two largest countries by population, India and China, and some of the smallest also reside within the scope of the Indo-Pacific.

What this vast expanse of sea and land holds for the United States is the largest and perhaps most dynamic international environment where American companies and military units operate. While the United States is undoubtedly a Pacific power, its ability to access the epicenter of Pacific activity in East and Southeast Asia is severely constrained by the nature of the same expansive geography. The continental United States is some 6,600 miles removed from Taiwan, 6,200 miles from Okinawa, 6,000 miles from Guam, 5,800 miles from South Korea and 5,300 miles from the main islands of Japan. The realities of these distances between the United States and its major Pacific allies, outposts, and partners are seldom considered, let alone understood. That a voyage by ship from San Francisco to the American military base at Okinawa may take anywhere from six to more than 14 days is a major complicating factor in the ability of the United States to fulfill its commitments to Pacific allies and partners.

The physical separation of the United States from its many allies and partners in the Western Pacific serves as the foundation for the forward positioning of major military assets. Indeed, the military, joint INDOPACOM command oversees roughly 375,000 military and civilian personnel across its area of responsibility. The primary naval means of maneuvering personnel and material as well as projecting power across the vast seascape of the region, the U.S. 7th Fleet, must operate with between just 50 and 70 vessels to manage almost 50 million square miles of sea, the largest area of responsibility of any forward-stationed American fleet. The strain on the fleet is compounded when one considers the need to counter the rapid and continuing expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, coast guard and maritime militia.

The result has been a continuing fixation of American regional assets on the Western Pacific despite Washington’s ostensible recognition of the Indo-Pacific as a region of much greater scope in its official policy documents. Perhaps the most promising solution is the revival of the 1st Fleet, a concept most recently suggested by former Navy Secretary Ken Braithwaite to be based in both Singapore and Darwin, Australia. This new formation would take over the area of responsibility in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia from the 7th Fleet, thereby alleviating its divided attention between China and the Indian Ocean region — a region of growing interest but where little force structure or action has thus far been applied. Even if the 1^st Fleet is returned to service, the massive mandate of American forces in the Indo-Pacific necessitates greater presence and mobility that can only be provided by more naval platforms. If the “Indo” of Indo-Pacific is to be anything more than a genuflection towards the Indian Ocean’s existence, the Navy needs to be empowered to maintain a credible presence in the West Pacific as well as the Indian Ocean.

The Center for Maritime Strategy, housed inside the Navy League of the United States, conducts and supports policy research and advocacy efforts across a broad spectrum of issues that impact the United States’ position as a maritime nation. CMS is hosting a ticketed breakfast at Sea-Air-Space 2022 on Tuesday, April 5.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Aerosonde unmanned aerial system has been deployed on a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer serving in the U.S. 7th Fleet, giving the Flight I/II DDG — which does not have the organic helicopter facilities of the Flight IIA and subsequent versions of the DDG — an organic aerial surveillance capability. 

Wayne Prender, Textron Systems’ vice president for Air Systems, told Seapower March 31 the DDG — which he was not at liberty to name — deployed with an Aerosonde system on board in March. The system is being operated under a contractor-owned/contractor-operated arrangement. 

Prender said a second DDG would deploy with an Aerosonde system later this year. He also said that for three years an Aerosonde system has been operational on board the Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base ship USS Hershel “Woody” Williams in support of the U.S. 2nd Fleet. 

Prender said the deployments are “helping to set the calculus for real-world operations.” 

The Aerosonde can carry a variety of sensors including an electro-optical camera, an Automatic Information System receiver, and other special payloads. The UAS can perform wide-area search, expanding the search horizon of the host ship. The system is fully integrated into the ship’s combat information center.  

The UAS uses less fuel — about one pound per hour — than an MH-60 helicopter, which burns about 1,000 pounds per hour. The Aerosonde uses heavy fuel, the same fuel used by the ship’s turbines, so no provision for a different fuel is needed. 

An Aerosonde can be operated by a team of three contractor personnel. The fixed-wing version can be launched and recovered in Sea State 4 and is recovered by a net rigged on the host ship. A vertical takeoff and landing version, which carries a lighter payload but can be launched more quickly, will be deployed on a ship later this year.     

WILMINGTON, Delaware — President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, the ship sponsor, celebrated the commissioning of the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Delaware (SSN 791) Saturday, April 2, in a ceremony in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Biden previously represented the state of Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate. 
 
Due to COVID restrictions in place at the time, there was no traditional commissioning ceremony held when USS Delaware was commissioned administratively on April 4, 2020. On that day, the submarine was underway and became the first U.S. Navy ship commissioned while submerged. 
 
Saturday’s ceremony followed the script of a traditional commissioning and was held in commemoration of the milestone. 
 
“This latest Navy ship to carry the Delaware name is part of a long tradition of serving our nation proudly and strengthening our nation’s security,” Biden said. “Not just us, but our allies and partners around the world as well.” 
 
As the ship sponsor, Jill Biden performed the traditional honor of calling for the crew to man the ship and “bring her to life,” a ceremonial procession following the commemorative setting of the first watch. 
 
“This vessel will always uphold the First State’s motto of ‘Liberty and Independence,’” she said. “It’s difficult to put into words what it means to be a part of the USS Delaware family. It’s an incredible honor that I take seriously. I’ve seen the heart of this crew and it makes me proud and humbled to be your shipmate for life.” 
 
USS Delaware is the 18th Virginia-class submarine built, as well as the eighth and final Block III Virginia-class sub. The Block III submarines are notable for replacing 12 vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles with two larger, 87-inch diameter launch tubes, capable of carrying larger payloads, among other advancements. 
 
“The men who serve — and will serve — aboard the USS Delaware will bear our state’s name for decades to come as they defend our nation,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the event’s keynote speaker. “Through their sacrifice and service, may we grow even closer to that more perfect union.” 
 
USS Delaware is homeported at Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, where it operates under Submarine Squadron 12 and its Commodore, Capt. Matthew Boland. 
 
The submarine is the seventh U.S. Navy ship to be named for the First State, but first in more than a century. The first ship to be named Delaware was a 24-gun frigate launched in July of 1776, the month the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. 

The 2022 STEM Expo, which kicked off Sea-Air-Space 2022 April 3, marked the largest crowd yet for the science- and fun-focused event, geared to students in the fifth to 12^th grades.

The popular expo featured hands-on “mad science” demonstrations with dry ice, electricity, chemical reactions, robots, military animals and more, including nearly two dozen exhibits.

A performance by the U.S. Coast Guard Drill Team led the event, which also included a large and very popular version of the game Battleship; a nitrogen ice cream station, an edible version of some of the mad science experiments; and a unique building event with Tinker Man, who builds large, complex structures from children’s toys.

“It is great to see so much attention at the booth,” said Heather Deagle, a member of HII’s STEM team. “These kids are the future. It is their talent and contributions that will have an impact on shaping future technologies — and being part of this STEM event is a great opportunity to display our commitment to the education of these future generations.”

The expo encourages students to pursue coursework and careers in STEM and reaches underserved communities to promote STEM education.

The “champion” sponsor for the event was HII, whose booth included everything from a 3D printer to a REMUS unmanned underwater vehicle. Sponsors included CACI, L3Harris, Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin.

Through the years, HII has made numerous investments in STEM education programs; partnerships with local high schools, community colleges and technical schools to develop trade-based curriculum; summer internships for both students and teachers; and industry-leading apprentice schools at the company’s two shipyards.

In 2004, Deb Kloeppel left her executive job at American Airlines to make an overseas permanent change of station with her husband, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Dan Kloeppel. She hoped to further her career in her new location but discovered the opportunities were virtually nonexistent.

Kloeppel realized she wasn’t alone. She met other highly trained and educated military spouses  who also had to choose between their careers or their devotion to family and country. So, with a $323 investment, she started the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, or MSCCN, to help support people like her. 

MSCCN was so successful that in 2010, the Kloeppels cofounded CASY: Corporate America Supports You. CASY’s goal was to provide free vocational training and job placement services for people transitioning from all military services, veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserves.

By 2019, CASY and MSCCN had helped more than 57,000 members of the military and their spouses find new civilian careers. That year, the two organizations acquired VetJobs, an online military job board, and launched MilitarySpouseJobs.org. The company is one of the resource partners featured at today’s Transition Connection job fair, being held in Cherry Blossom Ballroom from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This Sea-Air-Space hiring event focuses on providing job opportunities to those with a military family or defense background.

Today, VetJobs.org and MilitarySpouseJobs.org are the largest free online job training, counseling and placement resources for all members of the military and their spouses. Last year, they surpassed 75,000 verified job placements, and currently have more than 3 million job listings, says Don Fried, a Marine Corps veteran who now serves as director of branding and marketing for VetJobs.

“When I separated out in 1999, there were nowhere near the resources we have today,” he says. “I think we had a three-day TAPS [transition assistance program] class. Now, people start planning their transition six to 12 months before they leave the service.”

This is key, Fried says, because statistics show that more than 60% of former service members work at different types of jobs than they did in the military.

“It’s sometimes hard to know your interests and what to look for in a civilian job,” he says. “VetJobs can help with that.”

Any current or former member of the military or their spouses can use VetJobs’ and MilitarySpouseJobs’ online employment listings, job assessment quiz and video job training resources for free. If they register with the sites, they also have access to a free career specialist who can help them navigate a new career search. They can get a direct introduction to employers with job openings, and can also participate in mentorships with industry partners.

Fried estimates that 400 to 700 people use VetJobs every week. The organization is funded by charitable foundations, grants and sponsorship by corporations like Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Boeing, Wells Fargo, Prudential, Deloitte and Swift Transportation. Job listings are provided by the nonprofit DirectEmployers Association.

Fried says companies like to hire service members for a variety of reasons.

“In a time when employers are having a hard time putting butts in seats, we show up. We have an air of maturity and discipline, and we’re contributors,” he says. “Employers like those types of soft skills. They can take our soft skills and then train us in the technical aspects of a job.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The 500th C-130J Super Hercules aircraft built by Lockheed Martin (Booth 1001) has been delivered to its customer, the company announced March 15.

The aircraft, Lockheed Martin C-130 construction number 5934, is a C-130J-30 version that was delivered to the 130th Airlift Wing, a unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard based at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in Charleston, West Virginia. The wing is replacing its older C-130 Hercules aircraft with new C-130J-30s.

The C-130J Super Hercules represents a significant advancement in performance, technology and airlift capability over the older C-130 Hercules family of aircraft. The C-130J is equipped with the more powerful Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines, six-bladed GE-Dowty R391 composite propellers, modern avionics and mission systems. The Super Hercules features dual head-up displays, an integrated defensive suite, automated maintenance fault reporting, and a rear ramp door capable of opening at airspeeds of up to 250 knots. It has greater speed, range lift capacity, climb rate, cruise altitude and short-field performance than the legacy C-130.

The C-130J Super Hercules is the current production model of the legendary C-130 Hercules aircraft. The C-130J first flew in 1996 and entered service in 1999. It is now the airlift aircraft of choice of 26 operators in 22 nations.

The U.S. military services operate the largest C-130J Super Hercules fleet in the world. The U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard collectively operate C-130J, C-130J-30, AC-130J Ghostrider, EC-130J Commando Solo, HC-130J Combat King II, MC-130J Commando II and WC-130J Weatherbird variants. The Marine Corps operates the KC-130J tanker version and a C-130J as part of the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team. The Coast Guard operates a version of the HC-130J which is different than the version used by the Air Force for search, rescue and logistics. The U.S. Navy is planning to test a version of the C-130J-30 for the Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) strategic communications mission.

These are some of the 17 different mission configurations of the C-130J used worldwide for transport (military and commercial), humanitarian aid delivery, aerial firefighting, natural disaster relief support, medevac, search and rescue, special operations, fire support, weather reconnaissance, atmospheric research and aerial refueling.

The C-130J-30 is a version of the Super Hercules, which has an extended fuselage (15 feet, or 4.6 meters) when compared to the basic C-130J. As such, it can carry 30% more passengers and cargo than the basic C-130J and 50% more container delivery system bundles.

The rugged C-130 family of aircraft has been in serial production longer than any other military aircraft in the U.S. inventory. The first C-130A made its first flight in 1954 and entered service in 1956. Since the first C-130 rolled of the Lockheed Martin production line, more than 2,100 were built before production switched to the C-130J. It is flown out of more than 70 nations and has been certified to support upwards of 100 different mission capabilities in its lifetime.

“No aircraft in history, production or operation matches the C-130 Hercules in terms of its versatility. The C-130J both extends and expands this reputation thanks to increased speed, integration and strength,” said Rob Toth, director of Business Development for Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility and Maritime Missions line of business.

As a retired U.S. Air Force Special Operations MC-130H navigator, Toth has experience flying and commanding operations with both legacy and C-130J aircraft.

“The legacy Hercs were great aircraft. The C-130J offers a more enhanced flying experience, especially with the advanced situational awareness and added power,” he said. “You the value of those attributes across all mission scenarios, especially with the maritime patrol, search and rescue, special operations and aerial refueling requirements supported by the U.S. Marine Corps and Coast Guard.”

To date, the Navy is the only U.S. government operator to not have a J in its fleet. Currently the Navy flies C-130s for transport and for 20 years (1963-1993) on the TACAMO missions.

Lockheed Martin is honored to have the Super Hercules selected for TACAMO testing — possibly bringing it back to where it all began, Toth said.

“We are working closely with NAVAIR to support an aggressive acquisition strategy that prioritizes both speed of acquisition and affordability to accelerate recapitalization of one of our nation’s most important capabilities — survivable, reliable, and endurable communications between the president and the nation’s nuclear forces,” Toth adds. “We are proud to be at the heart of this effort and confident that the Super Hercules will deliver the critical capability our nation needs.”  

ARLINGTON, Va. — The SPY-6 air and missile defense radar, the first of which has been installed on a guided-missile destroyer, will give the Navy a sensor worthy of its long-range Standard SM-3 Block IIA surface missiles, Raytheon officials said. 

Briefing reporters April 1, Ken Spurlock, Raytheon’s Strategic Missile Defense Requirements & Capabilities director, said the SM-3 missile “out-shot” the capabilities of earlier radars — presumably the SPY-1 on earlier DDGs. With the SPY-6, the SM-3 “can engage at the maximum range possible” for the missile. 

Spurlock said the SPY-6 allows a ship to provide air and missile defense simultaneously, provide regional defense organically, offer greater clarity of the battlespace, give more defense in depth, reduce the risk of fratricide and reduce the number of missiles needed to defeat a target. 

Also briefing was Michael Nulk, Raytheon’s associate director, Requirements and Capabilities – Naval Power, said the SPY-6 will give commanders the discrimination capability to make better decisions and to “change their shot doctrine.” 

“There is no other radar with the surface maritime capabilities of SPY-6,” Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said in a March 31 release. “SPY-6 is the most advanced naval radar in existence, and it will provide our military a giant leap forward in capability for decades to come.”  

Raytheon Missiles & Defense was awarded a $651 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract, with options totaling $2.5 billion, for “hardware, production and sustainment for full-rate production” of the SPY-6 family of radars. The contract provides for five years of production for radars for up to 31 U.S. Navy ships of seven types.  

Scott Spence, naval radars executive director at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, also briefing reporters, said the company had 46 SPY-6 shipsets under contract, with six of those in work at the Raytheon plant. He said the enlarged footprint of the SPY-6 production will help reduce sustainment costs.  

Spence noted the last transmitter that Raytheon builds for the SPY-1 radar will be delivered in April, concluding 41 years of production for the SPY-1. 

The SPY-6 family includes the SPY-6(V)1, being installed on Flight III Arleigh Burke-class DDGs. The (V)1 has four flat antenna faces each with 37 radar module assemblies. This air-and-missile-defense radar has been installed on the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), scheduled to join the fleet in 2024. The second shipset has been delivered for installation on the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128). 

The SPY-6(V)2 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) has a rotating face with nine RMAs. The (V)2 will equip the America-class and Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships, and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. 

The SPY-6(V)3 EASR has three fixed faces each with nine RMAs. The (V)3 will be installed on Ford-class aircraft carriers and Constellation-class guided-missile frigates. 

The SPY-6(V)4 EASR will have four fixed faces each with 24 RMAs. The (V)4 will be back-fitted on some Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class DDGs.  

ARLINGTON, Va. — The price inflation hitting American consumers also is hitting the shipyards that builds ships for the U.S. Navy, which are facing increased costs for the materials used to build the ships and their components, said two executives who chair shipbuilder and supplier industrial base coalitions.

Suppliers who were not given advance funding especially are vulnerable to price inflation, which could have long-term effects in driving up the cost of the ships the Navy plans to procure. In addition, the shipbuilders are facing daunting labor shortages in the current tight labor market. 

David Forster, a retired Navy captain, Global Strategy Executive of Naval Services, Rolls-Royce North America Inc., and chairman of the Amphibious Warfare Industrial Base Coalition, and Rick Giannini, chairman of the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition and CEO of Milwaukee Valve, described the industrial base challenges of the fiscal 23 budget and Future Years Defense Plan in an April 1 interview with Seapower.  

Giannini said inflation is the top concern of the aircraft carrier industrial base, especially to those suppliers who did not receive advance funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the block buy of CVNs 80 and 81 saved the taxpayers money because it allowed suppliers to order advance materials, which are now in hand and unaffected by the inflation now hitting the industry. 

Giannini’s company, Milwaukee Valve, uses a large amount of nickel and copper in its aircraft carrier components, which it ordered as soon as possible for two CVNs and was able to lock in the low costs before the current inflation. He said the prices of nickel have jumped and that suppliers that did not or could not order earlier were now facing the effects of inflation.   

The ACIBC chairman said the CVN block buy is going well from his perspective and the ACIBC is working to show Congress the benefits of a two-CVN buy, including the advance procurement of materials that helps the suppliers to have the materials on hand when the builder needs them, making for a smooth build rate. 

Forster said the Navy’s efforts to award contracts early during the first two years of the COVID pandemic “saved a lot of jobs” and gave credit to James “Hondo” Geurts, then assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, for his successful efforts to advance funding to shipbuilders and in turn to their suppliers.   

Forster said the three to 3.5 year build cycle for amphibious assault ships was in place and good for the stability of the industrial base, but the Navy’s 2023 budget plan to end procurement of the Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships after a “handshake deal” for a block buy was disappointing and illustrated the ambiguity of the plans, especially since Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger supported a requirement of 31 large- and medium-size amphibious warfare ships. In concert with the 2023 budget calling for the decommissioning of four dock landing ships, the Navy’s budget is at odds with its plans to a build a force structure of 31 amphibious warfare ships.  

Forster also noted the procurement of the light amphibious warship had slid until 2025, a further challenge to stability for the workforce. 

He also advocates the Navy procure a replacement for the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which was scrapped after a devastating fire in July 2020, having been modified for operation of the F-35B strike fighter. 

Giannini said the second major concern of the shipbuilders and its supplier industrial base was the workforce, which is stressed by the difficulty of hiring skilled labor. He cited the increasing age of the workforce and the retirements earlier than planned as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

The Navy’s shipbuilding and ship retirement plans for 2023 and the Future Years Defense Plan and are likely to face intense scrutiny from the armed services committees in Congress, who have pushed back against retirement plans for several ships in the recent past and have been critical of the Navy’s “divest to invest” strategy.