Jerri Fuller Dickseski News

Northrop Grumman Corporation appointed two vice presidents to key positions in its newly formed Shipbuilding sector, effective immediately. George Simmerman, Jr. will serve as vice president, assistant general counsel and sector counsel, and Jerri Fuller Dickseski will serve as sector vice president of communications. Simmerman is based in Pascagoula, Miss. and Dickseski is based in Newport News, Va.

The Daily Press reports that a new Navy shipbuilding plan envisions a future fleet with one fewer aircraft carrier and six fewer attack submarines than exist today, posing a threat to jobs at Northrop Grumman Newport News in the next decade. The draft plan, which was obtained by the Daily Press but won't be released until February, calls for a total combat force of 313 ships, a significant increase from today's fleet of about 281 ships. But that total masks a proposed decline in the large - and costly - ships that sustain major shipyards like Newport News. The overall increase in fleet size can be explained by the Navy's plan to buy 55 Littoral Combat Ships - small, fast attack boats that can patrol waters close to shore. None of those ships exist today.