Sam LaGrone

The following is the Sept. 19, 2024, Government Accountability Office report, Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Address Persistent Challenges Hindering Efforts to Counter Illicit Maritime Drug Smuggling. From the report What GAO Found Various federal agencies collaborate through task forces to detect and interdict the maritime flow of illicit drugs like cocaine and fentanyl. The task forces include members from Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components, such as the Coast Guard. In 2019, GAO reported that the task forces generally coordinated effectively using mechanisms like working groups and liaison officers. However, task force agencies have not

The Navy’s top officer is healthy after treatment following a Stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year, the service disclosed on Friday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti has been declared “cancer free” by her physicians after a lump was discovered in a routine screening this summer. “Franchetti received her diagnosis in late June after a routine screening mammogram. She underwent a successful outpatient surgery in July, completed radiation therapy, and began maintenance endocrine therapy this month. During her surgery, Franchetti temporarily transferred her authority to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations,” reads the statement from CNO’s office.

Naval Weapons Station Earle (Sept. 14, 2024) – Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro gives remarks the commissioning ceremony of USS New Jersey (SSN-796), Sept. 14, 2024. US NAvy Photo

The Navy tapped a Connecticut private equity group with a background in tax break investments to fund construction of a major submarine supplier yard in Mobile, Ala., in a public-private partnership, the sea service announced late Friday.

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198) sails alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) during a replenishment-at-sea on Sept. 11, 2024. US Navy Photo

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding has been awarded $9.6 billion in contracts to build four amphibious warships, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Pentagon. A $5.79 billion award funds the detailed design and construction of three Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious warships – LPD-33, LPD-34 and LPD35. A second $3.8 bill award funds the advanced procurement and detailed design and construction for the future big deck amphib Helmand Province (LHA-10), according to the contract announcement. “We greatly appreciate the stability that this award provides to all Ingalls shipbuilders and our surrounding communities,” Ingalls president Kari Wilkinson said in a statement to

The U.S. Navy oiler damaged in the Arabian Sea this week is now in port in Oman, according to photos provided to USNI News on Wednesday. USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198) entered the port of Duqm, Oman, with the assistance of tugs on Tuesday afternoon local time, according to a local ship spotter. A Navy official confirmed to USNI News that the tanker was in the Omani port as of Wednesday. The oiler is now undergoing a repair assessment while the service investigates the cause of an underwater allision that damaged the ship. “USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198), a replenishment oiler, sustained

Shipuilder Newport News Shipbuilding, Va., informed the Department of Justice of faulty welds that may have been made intentionally on non-critical components on in-service Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, USNI News has learned. HII reported to the Navy that welds on new construction and in-service submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers were made not following welding procedure, according to a Tuesday memo from Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Guertin told SECNAV and CNO the workers did not follow

THE PENTAGON – The House Armed Services Committee is investigating substandard welding on submarines and aircraft carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding, the committee announced on Friday. Following a Thursday report in USNI News, lawmakers are now looking into how shipbuilders at the Virginia yard had violated proper welding procedures on work that made it into current in-service submarines. The flawed work was found by quality assurance teams at Newport News Shipbuilding, which led to a wider investigation into welding quality that’s drawn in the Department of Justice, USNI News reported. “It is deeply concerning to learn that faulty welds may