NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The future John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) marked another milestone leading up to the christening of the second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier as Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) flooded the ship’s dry dock on Oct. 29. The John F. Kennedy has been under construction at…
Pentagon, Lockheed Reach Deal to Reduce Cost of F-35A by 12.8%
FORT WORTH, Texas — The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin finalized a $34 billion agreement for the production and delivery of 478 F-35s at the lowest price in the history of the program, according to a Lockheed release. The contract includes all U.S., international partners and…
Geurts: Weapons Elevator Experts Being Assembled for Ford Class Carriers
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s top acquisitions official said all advanced weapons elevators (AWE) on the new aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will be operational by 18 months after post-delivery trials and testing begins and that a team…
USS John S. McCain Returns to Warfighting Readiness
YOKOSUKA, Japan — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain completed its necessary repairs and is underway to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing, according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet release. The ship underwent repairs and extensive and accelerated upgrades over the last two years following an…
Navy Commissions Newest LCS, USS Indianapolis
BURNS HARBOR, Ind. — The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest littoral combat ship, USS Indianapolis, on Oct. 26 at Burns Harbor. “To the citizens of the great state of Indiana who have joined us here today, thank you so much for enduring the weather to show…
USS Gerald R. Ford Returns to Sea
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford got underway Oct. 25 for sea trials from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division following a 15-month pierside maintenance period. “I am proud of the crew’s efforts to get USS Gerald R. Ford…
Secretary: Navy Discussing Next-Gen Carrier Concepts, Including ‘Lightning Carrier’
WASHINGTON — The secretary of the U.S. Navy said the sea service is looking ahead to determine what the follow-on aircraft carrier design will look like, even as work continues to get the new USS Gerald R. Ford out to regular operations at sea. “With…
Piracy at Sea Decreasing Worldwide in 2019, Report Shows
LONDON — Global incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea have decreased across the first nine months of 2019 when compared to the same period in 2018, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB). In its 2019 third-quarter…
Navy to Commission Littoral Combat Ship Indianapolis
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, USS Indianapolis, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony on Oct. 26 in Burns Harbor, Indiana, the Defense Department said in a release. The future USS Indianapolis, designated LCS 17, honors Indiana’s…
Air Force to Manage Next-Generation MUOS, Navy Secretary Announces
WASHINGTON — The secretary of the Navy said that the U.S. Air Force, not the Navy, will manage the program for the next generation of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The MUOS, built by Lockheed Martin, is a communications satellite equipped…
