U.S. Navy

Latest in U.S. Navy

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called into question the viability of using the C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft as the basis for a new plane, called the E-130J, to support the U.S. Navy's Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission.
Air

Choice Of C-130 For New Navy ‘Doomsday Plane’ Questioned In Watchdog Report

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated Yesterday

More details have emerged about the problems the U.S. Navy is facing with its ill-starred podded Infrared Search And Track System, or IRST, an important capability planned for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. The latest issues to be highlighted come after TWZ previously reported on delays caused by production quality issues with the system and a Pentagon assessment of “significant reliability problems during operational testing,” which emerged earlier this year.
Air

New Details On F/A-18 Super Hornet’s Troubled IRST Pod

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

The proven and in-production E-7 Wedgetail, based on the Boeing 737 and serving with multiple allies, was supposed to bridge the gap between the E-3's retirement and pushing the mission to space-based distributed satellite constellations. Now, if the administration gets its wish, that won't happen. The E-7 will be cancelled and the Navy's E-2D Hawkeye will step in to fill the gap.
Air

E-2 Hawkeye Replaces USAF E-3 Sentry, E-7 Cancelled In New Budget

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

Troubled Constellation Frigate Is Now At Least 759 Metric Tons Overweight
Sea

Troubled Constellation Frigate Is Now At Least 759 Metric Tons Overweight

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

The U.S. Navy has quietly awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to strip useful parts from an ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft before disposing of it.
Air

Plan To Turn Ex-RAF E-3 AWACS Into E-6B ‘Doomsday’ Jet Trainer Abandoned By Navy

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

The U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation combat jet program looks to have hit another setback, with the Pentagon reportedly prioritizing the Air Force’s F-47 stealth fighter, amid concerns about how to run the two efforts simultaneously. Already, the F/A-XX was in limbo, with a U.S. official telling TWZ last month that the future of the program was being reviewed. This came after reports that a contract award for the Navy’s new combat jet could be delayed by as much as three years. Navy officials, meanwhile, continue to stress the importance of the F/A-XX to their future plans.
Air

Pentagon Wants To Shift Funds From Navy F/A-XX To USAF F-47: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

The U.S. Marine Corps is buying a pair of new medium landing craft from Australia-headquartered firm Birdon to help the service continue to refine its new expeditionary and distributed concepts of operations.
Sea

This New Beach Landing Vessel Is Being Bought By The Marines

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 22, 2025

The head of the U.S. Navy Reserve says that acquiring new C-130J Hercules aircraft is a top priority, particularly because of the critical organic aerial refueling capacity they could provide in a future Pacific fight.
Air

Buying KC-130Js Key To Navy’s Ability To Fight In Pacific: Reserve Boss

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 21, 2025

Trump wants a twin engine F-35.
Air

Trump Wants A Twin-Engine “F-55” Version Of The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 15, 2025

The future of the Navy NGAD crewed aircraft program remains in limbo.
Air

Fate Of Navy’s F/A-XX Future Fighter Is In Limbo (Updated)

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 14, 2025

KC-130T Hercules tanker/transports belonging to the U.S. Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30), the “Bloodhounds,” are gaining the ability to link up to the Starlink satellite constellation to help with long-range missile and other test work out in the Pacific.
Air

Starlink-Equipped Navy C-130s Offer Communication Boost For Pacific Missile Tests

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 12, 2025

USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck
News & Features

USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Apr 28, 2025

Wreckage of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has appeared in Yemen. The weapon, which was only recently confirmed as being used in combat, offers some notably advanced capabilities, especially over the GBU-39/B SDB I, and the technological risk of the remains of the still relatively intact weapon falling into an adversary’s hands are not insignificant.
Air

StormBreaker Advanced Glide Bomb Lands In Yemen Largely Intact

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 25, 2025

Imagery has emerged of a very rarely seen EA-18G Growler loadout involving four examples of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), during ongoing operations against Houthi targets in Yemen. While we know very little about Houthi air defenses, and their associated radars and sensors, the imagery underscores the continued threat that these present.
Air

EA-18G Bristles With Rare Four Anti-Radiation Missile Loadout On Yemen Mission

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 21, 2025

The U.S. Navy is touting the U.S.-Australian MQ-28 Ghost Bat ‘loyal wingman’ type drone program as a model for future industrial partnerships, while confirming continued U.S. military interest in the drone. The fact that the Navy is now speaking about this is notable, on the one hand because the MQ-28 has so far been seen primarily as a program of interest for the U.S. Air Force, and on the other because the Navy is currently still trying to nail down its carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) plans.
Air

MQ-28 Ghost Bat Is Of “Strong Interest” To The U.S. Navy

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Apr 15, 2025

President Donald Trump wants to purchase foreign-made ships to help close the vessel gap with China.
Sea

Trump Considering Buying Foreign Ships To Make Up Gap With China

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 11, 2025