China wants the ability to invade and hold Taiwan within the next six years but might not intend to do so in the near term, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Congress today. Milley said congressional testimony earlier this year from former U.S. Indo-Paci … | Continue reading
Russia has deployed trained dolphins during its invasion of Ukraine to protect a Black Sea naval base, USNI News has learned. The Russian Navy has placed two dolphin pens at the entrance to Sevastopol harbor, sheltered just inside a sea wall. The pens were moved there in February … | Continue reading
This post has been updated with a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet. Investigators have determined USS Connecticut (SSN-22) hit an uncharted seamount that grounded the nuclear attack submarine on the underwater feature in the South China Sea Navy, USNI News has learned. The results o … | Continue reading
A three-masted training ship interdicted a drug-laden high-speed smuggling vessel off the coast of Colombia on Friday, the Ecuadorian Navy announced. Sailing ship BAE Guayas caught the low-profile vessel within the 200-nautical miles of the Colombian exclusive economic zone, the … | Continue reading
Warships designs are increasingly taking their radar signature into account. Sharp angles that deflect radar waves and coatings that absorb radar energy have been standard features of warship designs for most new warships over the last 20 years. An extreme example is the class of … | Continue reading
The namesake of the Navy’s Independence-class of Littoral Combat Ships left the fleet after 11 years in a small pier-side ceremony in San Diego on Thursday, according to the service. USS Independence (LCS-2) was ceremonially decommissioned at an event not open to the public “due … | Continue reading
The tracking data of two NATO warships was faked off the coast of a Russian controlled naval base in the Black Sea while the actual ships were moored 180 miles away, USNI News has learned. The U.K. Royal Navy’s HMS Defender, a Type-45 Daring-class destroyer, and the Royal Netherl … | Continue reading
Some parts on Virginia-class attack boats are wearing out faster than the Navy anticipated 20 years ago, and buying replacement parts is further straining a nuclear submarine industrial base that’s already juggling an expansion of construction of new hulls and maintaining the cur … | Continue reading
The chairman of a special commission on artificial intelligence warned Congress the United States is only one to two years ahead of China in developing artificial intelligence, as Beijing remains “relentlessly focused” on achieving dominance across the broad spectrum of high tech … | Continue reading
Russia’s latest super-sized submarine, Belgorod, has been a conundrum for interested observers. While its existence is far from secret, Moscow has gone to great pains to keep certain key details out of the public domain. While navies traditionally hide the screw, or propeller, fr … | Continue reading
The following is the Jan. 6, 2019, Congressional Research Service report, Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress. From the report The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concern … | Continue reading
Evidence is emerging that the North Korean regime is training dolphins for military purposes, according to new satellite imagery. While the U.S. Navy pioneered the training of dolphins and other marine mammals for naval purposes and has a program based in San Diego, it’s not a ca … | Continue reading
China is bent on creating a world-class military that can conduct joint operations across the globe and already boasts the world’s largest navy, according to the Pentagon’s latest annual assessment of the Chinese military. A “permanent condition of military inferiority is anathem … | Continue reading
Amphibious ship USS Portland (LPD-27) shot down a drone with a laser weapon during a first-of-its-kind at-sea test of the Navy’s high-energy laser weapon system. The Navy is currently developing and testing a portfolio of laser weapons, some of which are more powerful but only su … | Continue reading
This post has been updated with statements from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. The Pentagon is starting the process of activating Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) as part of the Defense Department’s domestic response to the spreading COVID-19 … | Continue reading
Defects found in a $5 component will delay the Navy and Air Force nuclear warhead refurbishment program by 18 months and cost more than $1 billion. | Continue reading
SAN DIEGO – The Navy will begin reverting destroyers back to a physical throttle and traditional helm control system in the next 18 to 24 months, after the fleet overwhelmingly said they prefer mechanical controls to touchscreen systems in the aftermath of the fatal USS John S. M … | Continue reading
USS Montgomery arrived in the Philippines on Saturday, in the first port stop of its maiden deployment and the first LCS deployment overseas since 2017. | Continue reading
The Navy will field versions of its highest-power laser weapon and its low-end non-lethal laser dazzler later this year, gaining operational experience. | Continue reading
VT Halter Marine Inc. has been awarded a $745M detailed design and construction contract for the Coast Guard’s next-generation heavy icebreaker, according to a Tuesday Pentagon contract announcement. According to the announcement, the first-in-class ship will be built at the comp … | Continue reading
Last summer USS Dewey (DDG-105) fired 20 hyper velocity projectiles (HVP) from a standard Mk 45 5-inch deck gun in a quiet experiment that’s set to add new utility to the weapon found on almost every U.S. warship, officials familiar with the test have told USNI News. The test, co … | Continue reading
Ten enlisted Navy SEALs and a sailor who supported Navy special warfare are in the process of being administratively discharged from the service for testing positive for cocaine or methamphetamines, USNI News has learned. The sailors, assigned to East Coast Naval Special Warfare … | Continue reading