Given the complete debacle of the current administration’s response to the coronavirus, one might hope that our military might be better capable of reacting to the crisis. So far, the US Navy, at least, has demonstrated only how ill-prepared it … Continue reading
Tag Archives: US Navy
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has diverted to Guam following an outbreak of coronavirus onboard. Following initial news of three infected sailors, the number of cases is now said to have risen to “dozens.” The sailors … Continue reading
The US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, is the largest aircraft carrier ever built and, at over $13 billion, is also the most expensive. Nevertheless, because of problems with mission-critical systems, the ship has been referred to … Continue reading
While some ill-advised politicians are referring to the threat from Covid-19, the rapidly spreading coronavirus, as a “hoax,” the US Navy is taking it very seriously. Ships in the 7th Fleet has been ordered to spend at least 14 days … Continue reading
Both the US Navy and the Chinese Navy are working to develop “ghost fleets” of drone ships. The US Navy has been working on developing unmanned vessels since at least 2016. Four years ago, we posted about Sea Hunter, the … Continue reading
USNI News recently quoted Adm. Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and U.K. Chief of Naval Staff suggesting that the U.K. Royal Navy intends the HMS Queen Elizabeth its largest, most advanced warship ever built, to be considered interchangeable with … Continue reading
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought seventy-five years ago this week between the US and Australian navies and the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some standards the largest naval … Continue reading
Four ships from the Navy’s carrier Harry S. Truman Strike Group are deploying from the East Coast this week. Notably, the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman is not one of the ships being deployed as it is still undergoing repairs for … Continue reading
The US Navy is sending six ships from the Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida into the Atlantic in an attempt to get out of the path of Hurricane Dorian, which is expected to strengthen to a category 3 and … Continue reading
The Battle of Midway, fought from June 3 — 7, 1942, seventy-seven years ago this week, was a major American victory in the Pacific theater in World War II. Only six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Midway was … Continue reading
A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticizes the Navy and the shipyard, Bath Iron Works, for serious deficiencies with the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program. The report found more than 320 “serious deficiencies” found upon inspection when … Continue reading
The US Navy has recently ordered four Orca Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs) from Boeing, in a contract worth $43 million. The Orca XLUUVs are very large diesel-electric drone submarines intended to gather intelligence, place or clear naval mines, attack … Continue reading
Last month we posted about the successful voyage of the Sea Hunter, a 132′ long autonomous drone trimaran from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and back. Now USNI News is reporting that the Navy is moving quickly to field … Continue reading
Two years ago we posted about the ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), Sea Hunter, a 132′ long autonomous drone trimaran designed to track enemy submarines, being developed by the US Navy. The unmanned ship reached a major milestone recently after sailing autonomously … Continue reading
Five years ago, Leonard Glenn Francis, aka “Fat Leonard”, was arrested by the US Navy as the center of a major procurement scandal and what has been described as the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the … Continue reading
As a naval architect in commercial shipping for several decades, I will admit to that I really do not understand the way the US Navy designs and builds ships. In the world of commercial shipping, the process is to design … Continue reading
Lieutenant Randolph M. Prince, known as “Kaz,” had a pretty slick arrangement. “Kaz” was a supply officer in Virginia Beach, VA. Through friends, he set up sham companies which would be awarded government contracts by Prince. He would generate all the necessary paperwork and certify … Continue reading
The Washington Post has reported that Chinese government hackers have broken into the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing more than 600 GB of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for use … Continue reading
The deaths of 17 sailors in the separate collisions with merchant ships of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain has raised fundamental questions about the seamanship of US naval officers on the two ships, … Continue reading
The Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are not the only small new Navy ships with serious operating deficiencies. Recently, the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General released a report on the shortcomings of a new class of fast, shallow draft, transport ship, … Continue reading