Report: US Shipbuilding Needs an Overhaul
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN 767) enters Dry Dock 1 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on March 8. While at the shipyard, Hampton will receive repairs, structural inspections, and replacement of mechanical and electrical systems. (US Navy photo by Branden Bourque)
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The current state of American shipbuilding is sorely in need of an overhaul, Dr. Brett A. Seidle, acting assistant secretary of the US Navy for research, development, and acquisition, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, reports Navy Times. The Navy wants to nearly double the number of battle force ships in the next three decades. That would mean a jump from 296 ships, including submarines, aircraft carriers, and destroyers, to 381. For the service to do that, Seidle offered ideas for solutions: “increased modernization, infrastructure investment, better workforce hiring and retention, and improved supply chain performance.”
A US Government Accountability Office report issued the same day as Seidle’s testimony noted that as adversary threats grow, the Navy needs to take a new approach to increase its fleet size. “To start, it could apply leading ship design practices used by commercial shipbuilders,” reads the “Navy Shipbuilding: Enduring Challenges Call for Systemic Change” report. Navy programs and their shipbuilders are effectively made to operate in a “perpetual state of triage.”
The Trump administration has put the spotlight on shipbuilding, most notably launching a dedicated office inside the White House, reports Defense One. There’s also discussion of an upcoming executive order to spur manufacturing in the US.
A US Navy dive team and a group of Polish engineers joined the recovery operation Saturday for the four US Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania during a training exercise, reports CBS News on MSN. The reinforcements are working to recover the M88A2 Hercules, which was found March 26. The armored vehicle remains submerged under at least 15 feet of water, clay-like mud, and silt.
The USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group will join the escalating US campaign in the Red Sea to combat the Houthi rebels in Yemen, reports Marine Corps Times. The carrier group will join the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group there. Houthis said they had targeted a US vessel and Israeli military locations using drones last week, reports Fox News.
The Pentagon said that the campaign against the Houthis will not be “an endless offensive,” reports Task & Purpose. The strikes are going after “a much broader set of targets” in Yemen than during the Biden administration, said Air Force LT GEN Alex Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Staff.
Paul Lawrence has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next Veterans Affairs deputy secretary, reports Marine Corps Times. Lawrence previously served as the VA’s under secretary for benefits during President Donald Trump’s first term.
A VA Inspector General’s Office report criticized Veterans Affairs leaders for accounting mistakes and procedural errors which led to fears of a possible department budget shortfall despite sufficient funding available to cover benefits and medical care, reports Military Times. Last summer, House Republican leaders criticized the VA for exaggerating budget issues after department officials said their future funding concerns were not as serious as they predicted, Military Times reported in November.
The Canadian military is eyeing the acquisition of a new helicopter fleet that will deal with existing rotary aircraft gaps in firepower and mobility at a cost of nearly $13 billion, reports Defense News. The Next Tactical Aviation Capability Set, or nTACS, project will provide a joint capability to be fielded by the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Canadian Army, and Canadian special forces. Canada also plans to upgrade its existing fleet of Chinook heavy lift helicopters.
The US has approved a potential $1.96 billion sale to Qatar of eight MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles, which, if completed, would mark the first sale of the General Atomics-produced drones to the Middle East, reports Breaking Defense.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a policy forum in Murmansk last week, said the US push for Greenland is rooted in history, noting the United States first considered plans to win control over Greenland in the 19th century, and then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II, reports AP News. He said he is not surprised at the push to acquire Greenland, given US interest in the mineral-rich territory.
US Vice President JD Vance and his wife visited the US Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, reports BBC on MSN. Their trip had been scaled back from original plans to tour the island more widely.
The 2025 Avalon International Air Show in Australia saw booming attendance, despite US Defense Department guidance restricting travel, reports Breaking Defense. In spite of limited attendance by US military officials, the American presence at the show was still relatively strong, if somewhat scaled back, compared to years’ past. According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a dozen senior US officials attended along with roughly 100 US companies. US F-22s and F-16s made an appearance at the show as well. The show ran from March 25-30.
Plane enthusiasts at the Avalon show were left horrified Friday after an aircraft crashed to the ground during an aerobatic performance by the Sky Aces Formation Aerobatic Team, reports Mirror. Two people were severely injured in the crash of the single-seat biplane.
The badly damaged cargo ship Solong, which collided with a US tanker in the North Sea earlier this month, arrived in the Scottish port of Aberdeen, reports AP News. A fire on the ship transporting jet fuel for the US military took nearly a week to put out. The damage to the ship following its collision March 10 with an anchored tanker, the MV Stena Immaculate, and the ensuing fire, was visible from the shore.
Military store officials are watching closely to see what effects tariffs might have on their stores and customers, and they’re trying to minimize extra costs, reports Navy Times. They do expect the tariffs will affect the availability of some items and their costs.
The US Army will send major elements of its most modernized air and missile defense capabilities to the Pacific and European theaters, reports Army Times. MAJ GEN Frank Lozano, said the service will send two of its Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors, or LTAMDS.
Two former graduates of West Point think that the US military needs another service academy. Michael LaValle, a former infantry soldier who now works in finance, and retired Army LT COL DeVan Shannon, who teaches at the Joint Special Operations University, envision another academy dedicated to the use of space, cyber, and robotics. The two told Task & Purpose that a new approach to academy education would embrace officers learning from the public and private sector, where innovation is moving rapidly.
Sgt. Joe Harris, believed to be the oldest surviving World War II paratrooper and a member of the US Army’s first all-Black parachute infantry battalion, has died, reports ABC News. He was 108. Harris died March 15 in a hospital in Los Angeles surrounded by family. He will be honored with a full military funeral April 5.
Global Positioning System technology legend and Virginia native Gladys West recently shared insights on her career. West is a pioneering mathematician who made contributions to several technological advances that helped transform the way humans navigate the world and understand its dimensions, reports Virginia Mercury. Beginning in 1956, West began to carve out her most notable work at the Naval Proving Ground, now called Naval Support Facility Dahlgren in King George County.
A new AccuWeather forecast predicts that as many as six hurricanes are forecast to strike the United States this season, reports The Hill. That puts the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season on par with last year’s, which brought six named storms directly to US soil.
Contracts:
International Development Resources Inc., Centerville, Virginia, was awarded a $28,169,908 firm-fixed-price contract (H92239-25-C-0004) for Army Special Operations Command’s Special Operations Aviation Training Readiness management support for a base period of 12 months and four 12-month option periods. The base period of performance is April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. The work will be primarily performed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Performance locations also include Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia; Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the contracting activity.
RTX BBN Technologies Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $20,649,669 modification (P00008) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract HR001123C0071 to award Phase Two for the Generating Communication Channels to Operate program. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $25,754,292 from $5,104,623. Work will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts (38%); Middletown, Rhode Island (2%); Rosslyn, Virginia (2%); Woburn, Massachusetts (21%); Arlington, Virginia (2%); Anaheim Hills, California (10%); Annapolis Junction, Maryland (4%); Lexington, Massachusetts (9%); Beavercreek, Ohio (1%); Columbus, Ohio (4%); San Antonio, Texas (4%); Chantilly, Virginia (2%); and Plano, Texas (1%), with an estimated completion date of June 2026. Fiscal 2025 research and development funds in the amount of $4,199,146 are being obligated at the time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Federal Prison Industries Inc., doing business as UNICOR, Washington, DC, has been awarded a maximum $16,745,400 modification (P00008) exercising the second one‐year option period of a one‐year base contract (SPE1C1‐23‐D‐0017) with three one‐year option periods for extreme cold/wet weather jackets. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Kentucky, with a March 27, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
L-3 Chesapeake Sciences Corp., Millersville, Maryland, is being awarded $14,532,503 for a firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 42 cable assemblies and 80 cable assemblies to be used on the Los Angeles class and the Seawolf class submarines. This is a stand-alone contract with no options. All work will be performed in Millersville, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by January 2031. Working capital (Navy) funds in the full amount of $14,532,503 will be obligated at time of award, and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00104-25-C-NA18).
Norfolk Dredging Co., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $27,512,650 firm-fixed-price contract for new-work dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 3, 2026. Fiscal 2010 civil construction funds in the amount of $27,512,650 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-25-C-A003).
Vistra Communications LLC, Lutz, Florida, was awarded a $12,818,455 firm-fixed-price contract for support services and technical expertise in business best practices, process engineering, full-spectrum communication, information technology operations, and management. Bids were solicited via the internet with 19 received. Work will be performed in Washington, DC, with an estimated completion date of April 3, 2030. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $2,195,683 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-25-C-0007).
Metropolitan Van & Storage Inc., Benicia, California (HTC71121DR038), is awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements-type, firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00006) with a face value of $11,190,000. The modification of this contract brings the cumulative face value to $41,800,000. The locations of performance are Fairfield, California; and Suffolk, Virginia. The option period of performance is from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Fiscal 2025 defense working capital funds will be obligated. The US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
