ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has given its E-2 Hawkeye squadrons a new designation to more accurately reflect the aircraft’s expanded capabilities and missions. The service has changed the name from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron to Airborne Command and Control Squadron, effective Jan….
USS Delbert D. Black Completes Builder’s Trials
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The future guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black successfully completed builder’s trials on Feb. 22 after spending three days underway in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO)-Ships. The trials were conducted by the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding Division. The…
Second Virginia-Class Sub in Fiscal 2021 Tops Navy’s Unfunded Priority List
ARLINGTON, Va. — A Virginia-class attack submarine heads the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2021 unfunded priorities list, according to Feb. 19 letter to Congress from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday. Three types of aircraft and one logistics proof-of-concept ship round out the top…
12th Expeditionary Fast Transport Launched
MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy’s 12th expeditionary fast transport (EPF), the future USNS Newport (EPF 12), was launched at Austal USA’s shipyard on Feb. 20, according to the Navy’s Program Executive Office-Ships said. The launching of an EPF is a multistep process. The ship modules are…
Digital Modernization Among the Money Savers That Could Help Navy Reach 355 Ships, Modly Says
WASHINGTON — Digital modernization of U.S. Navy back-office operations is a largely overlooked activity that can improve readiness, cut costs and deliver educational content and training to personnel, acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly said on Feb. 21. Participating in…
USS Dewey Receives First ODIN Laser Weapon to Counter Enemy UAS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy recently installed the first Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN), a laser weapon system that allows its ships to counter enemy unmanned aerial systems (UAS), Naval Sea Systems Command said. The first system was installed on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey during the ship’s recently completed dry-docking. …
Keel Laid for Future USNS Cherokee Nation
HOUMA, La. — A keel-laying ceremony was held Feb. 12 for the future USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), the second ship of the Navy’s Navajo class of towing, salvage and rescue vessels. The ceremony was held near Gulf Island Shipyard at the Houma Terrebonne Civic…
USS Normandy Seizes Illegal Weapons in Arabian Sea
The USS Normandy, while conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, boarded a dhow in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 9 in accordance with international law and discovered a large cache of weapons, according to a Feb. 13 U.S. Central Command release. The…
EMALS, AAG Systems OK’d for All Carrier Aircraft
SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) have been cleared for shipboard launch and recovery of all currently deployed naval aircraft types aboard USS Gerald R. Ford…
Navy 2021 Budget Relatively Flat; Only 8 Ships Funded, Ship Retirements Accelerated
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S Navy’s 2021 budget seeks funding for only eight battle force ships, financed by $19.9 billion of a $207.1 billion Department of the Navy budget that is only slightly larger than the $205.2 billion budget enacted for fiscal 2020. The Future Years Defense Plan also forecasts some accelerated retirements or reductions…
