Future Naval Force Study News Today

For too long, the U.S. has lived off the dividends of its Cold War investments. Consider its Navy.

After a flurry of tantalizing but incomplete public announcements throughout October, the much-delayed future force plan for the U.S. Navy known as Battle Force 2045 is no longer missing in action. Its prolonged absence, though, will not be without consequence.

Aircraft carriers got a shout-out in the Senate on Thursday, as Virginia’s Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced a resolution to mark the centennial of those Navy mainstays.

The resolution introduced by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine noted that Norfolk Naval Shipyard workers built the Navy’s first carrier, USS Langley, by converting a Navy coal ship. The Langley was commissioned a century ago.

The Navy plans on purchasing hundreds of unmanned surface ships and unmanned underwater vehicles to counter the expansion of China's navy.

A 500-Ship Navy Won’t Be a Mere Dream Forever The Navy’s fleet size “aim point,” which may or may not come to fruition, was still to pursue a 500-ship fleet as of late last year, yet budget considerations, threat developments and new technologies could change this plan. Heres What You Need to Remember: When large numbers of drone ships are factored into the equation, the possibility of building a 500-ship Navy seems somewhat more attainable, given that the drone ships will operate in m...

Navy Has High Hopes for Robotic Ships ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS 2/26/2021 Boeing illustration The Navy is keen to integrate large unmanned vessels into the fleet in coming decades. But there remains a great deal of uncertainty about how much of the total force will be robotic as political, budgetary, operational and industrial considerations complicate the calculus. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday in his “CNO Navigation Plan” said thes...

HEADLINES & GLOBAL NEWS By   Feb 02, 2021 05:54 AM EST The light carrier studies will determine if the small carrier is worth the effort to add to the US fleet. One of the considerations is how they will fit into the overall strategy.  Having supercarriers is advantageous for any nation, but they are high maintenance, yet small carriers are lighter on the budget alternative. Why small carriers? Naval engineers are working on smaller carrier designs incorporated in a joint force as supercarrie...

By   Colin Clark on January 21, 2021 at 8:30 AM Lloyd Austin after being nominated by President-elect Joe Biden in Delaware on Dec. 9 WASHINGTON: One legacy of the Trump Administration that looks likely to endure under Biden: a willingness to stand up to Beijing. Some observers expected the Biden Administration to take a more hands-off approach to the Chinese threat, with Trump even posting an attack add that called Biden “China’s puppet.” But based on testimony from retired Gen. Lloyd...

By   Paul McLeary on January 19, 2021 at 7:16 PM Navy carriers lined up at Norfolk, Va. WASHINGTON: The Pentagon will take a hard new look at the Trump Administration’s last-minute shipbuilding plans, presumptive Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin’s said in written responses to questions before today’s nomination hearing. A new 30-year Shipbuilding Plan is due with the 2022 budget submission expected in March or April, while the Future Naval Force Study (FNFS) would require tens ...