The United States Navy is looking for alternative means of transporting aircraft, as the current aircraft carriers may be unnecessarily bulky and costly to operate. One Nimitz-class carrier costs $14 billion to build, plus $7 million a day to operate. With costs so high, the branch is looking for more cost-efficient substitutes. Read more >>

The tenth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock was christened on March 21, 2015. The ceremony took place at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipbuilding division visitor control center. In honor of the representative of Pennsylvania’s twelfth congressional district who served from 1974 to 2010, LPD-26 was christened John P. Murtha. Murtha served as a Marine for 37 years. During his time, Murtha earned the Bronze Star with Valor Device, two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. LPD-26 is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2016. The keel was laid for the final ship, USS Portland (LPD-27) in August 2013 and is currently under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries. Read more >>

Raytheon’s Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) is a leading defense weapon for high and low interception, increased range, and protection against anti-ship missiles. Through a USD$109,583,490 contract, the SM-2 missiles will primarily be built at Raytheon’s Camden location. Other plants include Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, Arizona, and Florida.  The Navy hopes to expand from five ships to more than thirty-five ships equipped with Raytheon’s missile technology. A spokesperson from the Navy stated, “This effort is steeped in fleet requirements, focusing on delivering capability to support urgent operational needs in targeted areas of responsibility.” Read more >>

UTC Aerospace Systems has received a USD$39 million US Navy contract to supply surface ship sonar domes for the branch’s Oliver Hazard-class frigates and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Read more >>

The United States Navy is looking into adding 28 additional Raytheon Tomahawk missiles to every one of the branch’s Virginia-class submarines. The production of the dubbed Virginia Payload Modules (VPM) onto the Block V submarines is planned to be completed by 2019. This move will add a new section of missile tubes to the submarines along with an increase firepower ability of Tomahawk missiles from 12 units to 40 units.There is currently an evaluation going on to analyze the practicality of adding the VPM ahead of the current schedule. A decision of expediting is expected to be made in April or May. A 70-foot module for the Virginia-class submarines is currently being worked and designed by Navy engineers. Read more >>