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After five years of testing, the U.S. Navy is finally entering the digital age for navigation. Five years ago, the first all digital navigation system was installed, in the USS Cape St. George (a cruiser). Called the Voyage Management System (VMS), this version used 29 CDs containing the 12,000 paper nautical charts that were stored in several large filing cabinets on the Cape St. George. The current version of VMS puts all the electronic charts on one high density DVD, or a portable hard drive. The navy has been working on VMS since the 1990s, and the first thing they...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday called into question the Navy's heavy and expensive arsenal of ships and subs. In a speech before naval officers and contractors, Gates did not say he was planning to cut any programs or its budget. But he did say the military must rethink whether it can afford such a massive naval fleet at a time when the Army and Marine Corps need more money to take care of troops and their families. "Do we really need 11 carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one?" Gates asked....

The Aegis weapon system, installed on board the US and Spanish naval warships, has successfully exhibited its combat capabilities during a recent trial. The Combat System Ship Qualification Trials were conducted in the waters near Pt. Mugu, California last week. US Navy’s recently commissioned guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) along with USS Wayne E Meyer (DDG 108) took part in the trial. Spanish Navy’s Alvaro de Bazan (F-101) frigate was also a part of the exercise. The Aegis integrated naval weapon system, fitted on the ships, was evaluated for combat-readiness through comprehensive surface, subsurface and anti-air warfare exercises,...

The Pentagon says it plans to buy 10 Joint High Speed Vessels that may have marines and special-operations SEALS going to combat onboard aluminum, twin-hulled catamaran offshoots of successful civilian ferries. The Pentagon says the plan includes use of the JHSV by the Navy and Army in a wider variety of military missions being considered. Austal, the program's prime contractor, began work on the first high-speed vessel last month, and, was recently awarded a $204.2 million contract toward construction of two more. In all, the project's construction of 10 JHSVs is estimated at $1.6 billion, Pentagon officials said. The 338-foot-long...

You could say that the three biggest challenges facing the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program are money, money, and money. The service has a clear vision of how to construct a networked, flexible fleet suitable for use across the spectrum of conflict. But it only gets $13-14 billion per year to build the warships that will populate that fleet. That isn't much for a country that relies on its Navy every day to sustain nuclear deterrence, assure free transit of sea lanes, and carry the global war on terror to the enemy. However, with the government borrowing $4 billion per day...