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China said it was conducting military exercises Saturday off its coast opposite Taiwan after warning Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives to scrap possible plans to visit the island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. The ruling Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, was conducting “live-fire exercises” near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Maritime Safety Administration warned ships to avoid the area. Such exercises usually involve artillery. The one-sentence announcement gave no indication whether Saturday’s exercise also might...

Facing a growing threat from China, the Navy envisions drone ships keeping an electronic eye on enemy forces across the vast Pacific Ocean, extending the reach of firepower, and keeping sailors out of harm's way. The Navy is speeding development of those robotic ships as an affordable way to keep pace with China's growing fleet while vowing not to repeat costly shipbuilding blunders from recent years. The four largest drone ships are being used together this summer during a multination naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean. Other smaller waterborne drones are already being deployed by the Navy’s 5th Fleet in...

he National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 authorizes taxpayer funds for the U.S. Department of Defense to research and develop plant-based proteins for members of the military. The congressional legislation, H.R. 7900, establishes a “Pilot Program on Research and Development of Plant-based Protein for the Navy.” The bill stipulates that by March 1st, 2023, the Secretary of the Navy “shall establish and carry out a pilot program to offer plant-based protein options at forward operating bases for consumption by members of the Navy.” Plant-based protein options are defined as “edible vegan or vegetarian meat alternative products made using...

The Navy commander of a joint military base in Hawaii where thousands were poisoned by water contaminated during a massive fuel leak was recently awarded the Legion of Merit upon retirement. Capt. Erik Spitzer, formerly the commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, was relieved of command on June 14 by Capt. Mark Sohaney, according to photos released by the Navy. Spitzer was criticized in the midst of the water crisis for providing conflicting guidance that residents’ water was safe in the days after the fuel leak. But during the change of command ceremony, Spitzer was awarded the Legion of Merit...

NAPLES, Italy -- On July 8, 2022, an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), blew overboard due to unexpected heavy weather in the Mediterranean Sea. The carrier was conducting a replenishment-at-sea, which was safely terminated through established procedures. All personnel aboard the ship are accounted for. One Sailor received minor injuries while conducting operations during the unexpected heavy weather. The Sailor is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery. USS Harry S. Truman and embarked aircraft remain full mission capable. Details and the cause of...

The Navy is canceling early separation programs and encouraging delayed separation as it aims to retain more sailors, especially in sea billets. The Navy announced the cancellation of enlisted early out programs, as well as waivers for new time-in-grade requirement, in NAVADMIN 142/22, released on June 22. Under the policy, service commitments, which include enlistment contracts and permanent changes of station, will be fulfilled. Anyone who has trouble completing their service requirements should work with their chain of command and/or detailers to figure out alternatives. Those seeking commissions are still encouraged to do so, with those requests considered on a...

The Navy has issued letters of censure to three Marine and two Navy officers in connection with the sinking of an amphibious assault vehicle off the Southern California coast in 2020 that killed eight Marines and a sailor. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, in a statement Monday, faulted the officers for "inadequate leadership and execution of their oversight duties." Censure letters are put in service members' personnel files and are often career-ending for military officers, usually preventing them from further promotion or other progress. A Marine Corps investigation found that inadequate training, shabby maintenance and poor judgment by leaders led...

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would intervene militarily in Taiwan if necessary, in an apparent shift away from the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” that quickly ratcheted up tensions with China. The comment — not the first instance of Biden’s blunt rhetoric on the world stage causing confusion and geopolitical uncertainty — suggested a willingness by the president to go further in defending Taiwan than he has in aiding Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has received tens of billions of dollars in arms and intelligence assistance in the war launched by Russia but not the direct intervention...

The number of sailors who deserted the Navy more than doubled from 2019 to 2021, while desertions in other military branches dropped or stayed flat, pointing to a potential Navy-wide mental health crisis amid a spate of recent suicides, according to experts and federal statistics obtained by NBC News. Among a fleet of more than 342,000 active sailors, there were 157 new Navy deserters in 2021, compared with 63 in 2019 and 98 in 2020, Navy data shows. The total number of deserters who were still at large in 2021 grew to 166 from 119 in 2019. Most of them...

The US Navy wants to scrap nine of 16 Littoral Combat Ships built by Lockheed Martin Corp. well short of their projected service lives in order to save a projected $4.3 billion in upgrades and maintenance over coming years.

The U.S. Navy is investigating what they believe is an intentional act of vandalism that damaged equipment within the Virginian-class submarine USS Texas (SSN-775) in the last month. The suspected vandalism took place as the USS Texas has been undergoing maintenance at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. Shipyard spokesperson Danna Eddy said in a statement reported by the Portsmouth Herald on Thursday that federal government equipment on the submarine was damaged on or around March 29 of this year. The USS Texas arrived at Portsmouth in September 2020 and has been undergoing scheduled maintenance and system upgrades since then....

"My son was found on the barracks floor by a 19-year-old non-medical sailor. Kyle did not die in a hospital as the media continually states inaccurately. Another SEAL candidate was sent to the hospital that day, Feb. 4, 2022, in critical condition. That individual was intubated and treated for severe pneumonia, which is what I believe Kyle also had. The Navy to this date has yet to reveal Kyle’s autopsy results, which is another concerning matter."

Artist's concept of a ship-mounted laser weapon The US Navy has shot down its first drone representing a subsonic cruise missile using an all-electric high-energy laser. At the US Army’s High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the Lockheed Martin Layered Laser Defense (LLD) weapon disabled the engine on a drone, which then parachuted to earth. Sponsored by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) and conducted in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) and Lockheed Martin, the February 2022 test was intended not only to...

March 31 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy announced Thursday that it will name a future ship after the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in honor of her tenure on the nation’s highest court. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro made the announcement in a statement, saying her name with adorn a future John Lewis-class replenishment oiler. “As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the honorable Ruth Ginsburg. She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality.” The T-AO is a new class of replenishment oiler...

On Monday the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Navy's request to reinstate the U.S. Navy's COVID-19 vaccine requirement. In November, dozens of U.S. Navy SEALs claimed they were wrongfully denied COVID vaccination exemptions on religious grounds. The suit, which lists 35 unnamed service members, argues that that the Defense Department's mandate violates their First Amendment rights. While the percentage of vaccinated active duty personnel in each service is at 95 percent or higher, the number of unvaccinated personnel is close to 30,000. The Navy itself has previously said that it has not granted an exemption to any...

In U.S. Navy Seals 1-26 v. Biden, (5th Cir., Feb. 28, 2022), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant the Navy a partial stay of an injunction issued by a Texas federal district court protecting 35 special warfare personnel who object on religious grounds to complying with the military's COVID vaccine mandate. The court said in part: Defendants have not demonstrated “paramount interests” that justify vaccinating these 35 Plaintiffs against COVID-19 in violation of their religious beliefs. They insist that “given the small units and remote locations in which special-operations forces typically operate, military commanders have determined...

Leaked video captured the harrowing moment a fighter jet crashed onto the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson before plunging into the South China Sea last month. The pilot was recovered after ejecting from the F-35C Lightning II, which was seen bobbing in the water without its canopy. Seven sailors were wounded in the Jan. 24 incident. The footage captured the aircraft’s final moments from the Pilot’s Landing Aid Television, or PLAT, camera as well as from the ship’s so-called “island,” the command center for flight-deck operations. The F-35C is seen banking as it descends rapidly toward the...

The U.S. Navy has begun to make plans to recover the F-35C fighter jet that crashed Monday after striking the deck of an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. The jet is the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world and would have made an enticing target for China if it had attempted to recover it from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The crash of one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world into international waters had fueled speculation that the U.S. Navy might quickly launch a salvage operation to prevent other foreign powers, especially...

Navy cyber is a ship without a rudder. While every other service has one cyber designator, the Navy’s cyber expertise resides in three seprate communities. As a result, the three communities are each plagued with unnecessary problems and none are fully empowered or capable of leading the domain. To solve this issue, the Navy must consolidate responsibility for cyber, invest in the cyber warfare engineer community, and require deep technical experience for all cyber roles.Leadership and management for Navy cyber is currently divided among cryptologic warfare officers (CWOs), information professionals (IPs), and cyber warfare engineers (CWEs). CWOs are ostensibly responsible...

The Air Force and Navy are both seeing a long-term, downward trend in aircraft availability and flying hours per aircraft, which is actually worse than the Pentagon reports because of the way the Defense Department counts aircraft as ready for duty, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. While USAF availability recovered a little during the COVID-19 pandemic, flying hours continued to fall, the CBO said. The Pentagon’s stated aircraft availability is higher than the CBO’s because the Defense Department counts some aircraft as ready for action even if they are torn down for maintenance at their...