Zitat:Navy launches second test missile off Southern California coast

The U.S. Navy said it launched a second -- and final -- missile in a planned exercise Monday afternoon from a submarine off the Southern California coast.

The second test launch of the Trident II (D5) missile from a ballistic submarine in the Pacific Ocean took place Monday afternoon, the Navy said. The blast-off took place to far less fanfare than Saturday night’s launch, which provoked residents from San Francisco to Mexico to take to social media, posting photos of an eerie-looking bluish-green plume smeared above the Pacific. [...]

The Kentucky, the ballistic submarine, conducted the two launches as part of a demonstration and shakedown operation, or DASO, process that certifies the readiness of a submarine’s crew and strategic weapons before returning to operational availability.

Zitat:Here’s One Idea How to Defend Ships From Ballistic Missiles

The U.S. Navy has been in discussions with shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls about the possibility of building a missile defense variant of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock (LPD-17). The new vessel could eventually be equipped with new radars, railguns and lasers.

Zitat:US Navy’s Unmanned Jet Could Be a Tanker

WASHINGTON — One of the biggest questions facing the future of US Navy carrier-based aviation is what will be the primary mission of its new unmanned jet. Some believe the aircraft – to be produced by the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program – should be a stealthy strike jet able to penetrate an enemy’s defenses without risking a pilot. Others want a spy plane, able to launch from a carrier and produce high-quality, real-time intelligence.

[...]

Now it would seem a decision has been made between strike and recon. The winner?

Aerial refueling.

[...]

Several sources contacted for this article confirmed the role of CBARS will be primarily tanking, “with a little ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance].”

Zitat:Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Sioux City

U.S. Navy to receive nation’s 11th littoral combat ship. [...] The Lockheed Martin-led industry team launched the nation's 11th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), Sioux City, into the Menominee River at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) shipyard today. [...] The Lockheed Martin-led industry team is currently in serial production of the Freedom-variant, and has already delivered three ships to the U.S. Navy to date. The Sioux City is one of seven ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with two more in long-lead production.

Zitat:The U.S. Navy Just Sank a Frigate With an Anti-Aircraft Missile

A modified SM-6 destroyed USS 'Reuben James,' and that's a big deal

Zitat:Two-thirds of Navy strike fighter jets can't fly

Nearly two-thirds of the US Navy's F/A 18 strike fighter jets are currently unable to fly, grounded due to repair delays or because they are awaiting spare parts. With more than half of all Navy aircraft out of service and no budget agreement in place to increase defense spending levels, the top brass says its usable planes are being pushed to the limit. [...]

The number of non-operational F/A 18 Hornets is "double where we should be," he said, confirming reports that 62% of the Navy's F/A 18s are unable to fly and 53% of the Navy's total air fleet is grounded. [...]

But Peter Singer, a strategist for the Washington-based New America Foundation, said that "the readiness problems are a culmination of a series of decisions to keep kicking the can down the road, from Congress's budget issues to the Pentagon assuming there would be a new replacement jet by now."

Zitat:U.S. Navy recommends sweeping changes after ship collisions

WASHINGTON

U.S. Navy leaders are recommending a sweeping list of changes in sailor training, crew requirements and safety procedures to address systemic problems across the Pacific fleet that led to two deadly ship collisions earlier this year that killed 17 sailors, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press.

A critical report scheduled to be released Thursday calls for about 60 recommended improvements that range from improved training on seamanship, navigation and the use of ship equipment to more basic changes to increase sleep and stress management for sailors.

Another Navy report released Wednesday concluded that three collisions and a ship grounding this year were all avoidable, and resulted from widespread failures by the crews and commanders who didn't quickly recognize and respond to unfolding emergencies. Navy leaders publicly acknowledged those failings in a congressional hearing last month. [...]

As a result of the two deadly accidents, eight top Navy officers, including the 7th Fleet commander, were fired from their jobs, and a number of other sailors received reprimands or other punishment that was not publicly released.