Sgt. Colin Arslanbas A U.S. Marine died during a parachute accident at Camp Lejeune last week, the Marine Corps said Thursday. “II MEF can confirm that Sgt. Colin Arslanbas was involved in a parachute mishap during the 24th MEU’s Composite Unit Training Exercise,” a spokesperson for II MEF told USNI News in an email. Military.com first reported that Arslanbas died in a parachute accident. The service announced Arslanbas’ death last week. Arslanbas died April 18th while the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit was conducting training at night. “The 24th MEU family mourns the loss of an outstanding Ma ..read more

New Jersey (SSN-796) during sea trials in 2024. HII Photo HII Newport News Shipbuilding has delivered the 23rd Vrginia-class nuclear attack submarine to the U.S. Navy, the company announced in a Thursday statement. New Jersey (SSN-796) is the fifth Block IV Virginia attack boat and the first designed from the keel up to accommodate mixed gender crews. The boat completed sea trials earlier this year off the coast of Virginia. “It is a proud day for our entire team when we deliver a high-quality submarine like New Jersey to the fleet,” Jason Ward, HII’s vice president of Virginia ..read more

Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) pulls into port in Busan on Feb. 18, 2023. US Navy Photo Allies and partners want reassurance that Washington’s nuclear umbrella remains in place as China intensifies “one of the largest nuclear build-ups in history” and North Korea’s behavior becomes increasingly provocative, now sending weapons and ammunition to Russia, a senior State Department official said Wednesday. Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary, told a Hudson Institute audience that the United States’ message, first to South Korea, and then others, notably Japan, is “the n ..read more

The following is the April 24, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs: Background and Issues for Congress. From the report The Navy is procuring two types of larger amphibious ships: LHA-type “big deck” amphibious assault ships and LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ships. Both types are built by Huntington Ingalls Industries/Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII/Ingalls) of Pascagoula, MS. Section 1023 of the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 7776/P.L. 117-263 of December 23, 2022) amended 10 U.S.C. 8062 to require the Navy ..read more

Sailors prepare an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet, attached to the ‘Wildcats’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131, for flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Red Sea, Feb. 29, 2024. US Navy Photo The Navy has designated the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as two new locations for combat awards, according to a service message released Wednesday. Under the memo released by Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Franklin Parker, sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden can now receive the Combat Action Ribbon, perso ..read more

French aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) departed its home port of Toulon for an operational deployment to the Mediterranean called Akila, which will see the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) for the first time under NATO control for two-weeks. In a press briefing on Apr. 11 to announce the deployment, Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard, Commander of the French CSG, stated that the names of French Navy warships and submarines in the group would not be announced as part of an ongoing experiment by the French Navy to obscure the identity of its warships. Mallard stated this is quite effect ..read more

USS George Washington (CVN-73) returning from sea trials on May 25, 2023. HII Photo Carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is set to depart Naval Station Norfolk, Va., this week for its new homeport in Japan, the Navy announced on Wednesday. George Washington is scheduled to leave Norfolk on Thursday to sail down the coast of the U.S., through the Caribbean Sea and enter the Pacific by rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The carrier will be part of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2024 event that will team Washington up with the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78 ..read more

The following is the April 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Iran: Background and U.S. Policy. From the report Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have been largely antagonistic since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, with tensions spiking again since 2023. Of particular concern for U.S. policymakers in 2024 are Iran’s regional activities and those of its partners in light of the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel; ongoing attacks against U.S. forces and additional targets in the region by other Iran-backed groups such as the Houthis; and the ..read more

USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) during sea trials on Oct. 21, 2021. HII Photo Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said he expects “a major announcement” in the next few weeks on a new multi-year procurement agreement to build three San Antonio-class amphibious warships and an America-class big deck amphibious warship at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi. The Navy has been negotiating “as low a price as possible” for the ships that the sea services view as essential to future expeditionary missions, Del Toro said at the Stimson Center on Tuesday. Two years ago the Navy and the Marine Corps agre ..read more

North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on April 22, 2024. KCNA Photo North Korea on Monday conducted a firing drill of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), with state media Korean Central News Agency reporting that it was a firing of “super-large multiple rocket units” simulating a nuclear counterattack and marking the first use of its Haekbangashoe nuclear weapon combined management system. The purpose of the North Korean drill, which was overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was “to demonstrate the reliability, superiority, might and diverse means of the DPRK’s nuclear f ..read more