Seapower And Projection Forces Subcommittee News

The U.S. Navy asked shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries on Monday for detailed pricing on the cost of two aircraft carriers, showing the Trump administration is taking a serious look at doubling its order for the most expensive ship in the U.S. fleet. The Navy’s request seeks to determine the savings achievable with a two-ship buy. “This opportunity for a two-ship contract is dependent on significant savings that the shipbuilding industry and government must demonstrate,” said James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research development and acquisitions.

Following the release of new national security and defense strategies, the Navy is undertaking a new Fleet Structure Assessment that could alter its stated goal of a 355-ship fleet, senior service officials told Congress this week. A new FSA would take a look at the mix of surface ships and submarine in the service and could change assumptions on the look and size of the future fleet, Vice Adm. Bill Merz, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems (OPNAV N9), told the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee on Tuesday. “We intend to do another FSA with the new National Defense Strategy. There’s a series of events that have to happen before we do the FSA…

It’s still too early to know for certain what the new administration will do about building up the U.S. Navy, as the numbers are a moving target. But with President Trump’s recent pledge to add $54 billion to defense spending, it’s a safe bet to make that the fleet will grow. So let’s start with the numbers. There are different ways to count the fleet size, including whether or not you count auxiliaries, but let’s use this number as the baseline: There are 274 ships in the U.S. Navy now.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted Reps. Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., on Wednesday for a tour of the shipyard, which included ships under construction at Ingalls. “Today was an informative visit to Ingalls Shipbuilding—one of our nation’s best assets,” said Wittman, who is chairman of the House Armed Services’ Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. “It is obvious the men and women of Ingalls brandish their skill-sets to build high-quality ships for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. Wittman and Palazzo met with Ingalls leadership during the tour and had the chance to meet shipbuilders on various ships under construction.

In comments before the international Tradewinds Ship Owners Forum in New York City, Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen highlighted the more than 42,700 jobs, $3.6 billion in labor income and $4.78 billion in GDP associated with employment for shipbuilding and repair in the northeast region. “American shipyards provide a dependable, highly trained workforce that produce, repair and maintain some of the world’s most modern and innovative vessels. Their efforts ensure our…

General Dynamics Electric Boat expects to hire nearly 4,000 people in the coming years as it ramps up production on Navy submarines, the Associated Press reports. Electric Boat is projecting a positive outlook for 2016 for revenue and employment, saying 1,800 more workers will be hired at its facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island this year. Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., employs 14,100 people, mainly in Connecticut. By 2030, EB is projecting that number will grow to 18,000. Electric Boat president Jeffrey S. Geiger told a gathering of legislators Monday at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick the North Kingstown shipbuilder’s future looks upbeat. Right now, the company has a backlog of 16 Virginia-class attack submarines under contract — worth $21 billion.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the U.S. Navy in a sharply worded memo this week to buy 12 fewer small littoral combat ships (LCS) and more fighter jets, electronic warfare equipment and other weapons in the upcoming budget year instead. If approved by Congress, the changes would have a huge impact on many big weapons makers, including Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal Ltd, which would have to compete to build eight remaining LCS ships in fiscal 2019. The Navy had been buying ships in recent years "at the expense of critically-needed investments in areas where our adversaries are not standing still, such as strike, ship survivability, electronic warfare and other capabilities," Carter said. A copy of the memo, first reported by Defense News, was seen by Reuters.

United States Congressmen Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) this week received the Maritime Leadership Award from the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), a national trade association representing the nation’s shipbuilding and repair industry. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication and support to the shipbuilding and repair industry. “From their critical role in supporting the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry…