A mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle is craned aboard the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30), as a part of the first embarkation of the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) mission package, April 23. (U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Vance Hand) By Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) Public Affairs  WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy embarked the first Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP) aboard USS Canberra (LCS 30), April 18, service officials announced. With the MCM mission package now onboard LCS 30, the Navy is looking forward to the ..read more

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has delivered Virginia-class fast-attack submarine New Jersey (SSN 796) to the U.S. Navy.  New Jersey is the 11th Virginia-class submarine delivered by NNS, and the 23rd built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat.  “It is a proud day for our entire team when we deliver a high-quality submarine like New Jersey to the fleet,” said Jason Ward, NNS vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction. “The mission ahead for N ..read more

U.S. Coast Guard 13th District, April 23, 2024  COOS BAY, Ore. – The Coast Guard decommissioned the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Orcas (WPB1327) during a ceremony, Tuesday.  Rear Adm. Charles Fosse, the commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, presided over the ceremony honoring the 35 years of service Orcas and its crews provided to the nation.  Commissioned on April 14, 1989, Orcas was the twenty-seventh Island-Class cutter to join the fleet.  Orcas has been stationed in Coos Bay, Oregon, since 1989 and is the sixth Coast Guard cutter to be stationed in Coos Bay sinc ..read more

U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Public Affairs, April 24,2024  KODIAK, Alaska – The Coast Guard retired the Air Station Kodiak MH-65 Dolphin helicopter fleet during a ceremony, Tuesday.  Capt. Timothy Williams, commanding officer of Air Station Kodiak, presided over the ceremony honoring the 36 years of service the MH-65 Dolphin airframe and its crews provided to the Arctic region.  Air Station Kodiak currently has a rotary-wing fleet of six MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters. The unit will shift to a rotary-wing ship-and-shore based fleet of nine MH-60 Jayhawks in 2025.  Air Statio ..read more

The SM-2 missile is primarily used by U.S. and allied navies for fleet air defense and ship defense. Updates will allow for continued, rapid deliveries of Standard Missile variants to the U.S. and international fleets  TUCSON, Arizona (April 25, 2024) — Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, has been awarded a $344 million contract for the development of two missile variants – the SM-2 Block IIICU and SM-6 Block IU – which will be based on a common guidance section, where the electronics and software that guide a missile to its target are housed.  The updated variants will share a ne ..read more

WASHINGTON (April 16, 2024) Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivers testimony at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the fiscal year 2025 defense budget request in Washington D.C., April 16, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by MCC Michael B. Zingaro) April 24, 2024 | By C. Todd Lopez, DoD News  Recruiters across the military are challenged every day to bring young people into service. But the chief of naval operations said she thinks the Navy has what young people are looking for — if only they knew more about it.  “All the services are faci ..read more

An illustration of the new NOAA marine operations center planned for Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. (Image credit: Burns & McDonnell) Apr. 24, 2024   NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations will hold a ceremony May 6 at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island to break ground on a new facility that will serve as the future home of the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic. Four NOAA research vessels will be based at the new facility, which will also serve as the headquarters for NOAA’s Atlantic fleet.  In December 2023, the U.S. Navy, on behalf of NOAA, awarded $146,778,932 to ..read more

U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, April 24, 2024  PENSACOLA, Fla. —  The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless (WMEC 624) returned to their home port in Pensacola, Wednesday, following a 61-day patrol in the Windward Passage and Florida Straits. While underway, crew members conducted maritime safety and security missions to protect life at sea and deter illegal migrant voyages bound for the United States.  Dauntless deployed in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast (HSTF-SE) and Operation Vigilant Sentry (OVS) while patrolling in the Coast Guard Seventh District’s ar ..read more

23 April 2024  Student engineering teams from Princeton, Washington College and the University of Alabama have won first place in their respective events at the “Promoting Electric Propulsion” (PEP) boat races, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE).    In just six years, this electric boat-building competition has grown from a single university to 34, with more than 200 students who took part in the five-mile races on Broad Bay in Virginia Beach. Dr. Steve Russell, program officer, Sea Warfare and Weapons department ..read more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (April 9, 2024) Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visits industry booths during the Navy League of the United States Sea-Air & Space Exposition 2024 at National Harbor, Maryland, April 9, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Jared Mancuso) By Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor  ARLINGTION, Va. — The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) said that the shortage of workers in the U.S. shipbuilding industry could be partially alleviated by allowing for more legal immigrants into the country to work in the shipyards.  Speaking April 23 at the Stimson Institute, a Washington ..read more