USS Washington Commissioned
The U.S. Navy’s newest Virginia class submarine, USS Washington (SSN 787), was officially commissioned during a ceremony on board Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on October 7. Washington, named in honor of the 42nd state, is the 14th Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine to join the Navy's operational fleet. Elisabeth Mabus, daughter of the 75th Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, served as the submarine’s sponsor. Washington is the fourth of eight Block III Virginia-class submarines to be built. The Block III submarines are built with new Virginia Payload Tubes designed to lower
Melting Sea Ice: A Canary in the Coal Mine
just a few feet above sea level. Thus, sea ports are highly sensitive to sea level rise. In the United States, the ports of Norfolk and Miami are currently most at risk. The U.S. Navy is developing contingency and mitigation plans for addressing the threat of sea level rise to Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base. Miami has been ranked first of all the world’s major port cities in terms of value of assets exposed to inundation today. The Port Miami Tunnel linking cargo terminals with the land-based transportation system was closed for the first
Two Dead in Shooting on Navy Ship
Reuters reported that there are two dead aboard the U.S. Navy Destroyer USS Mahan docked at Naval Station Norfolk last night., as a civilian apparently shot and killed a sailor, and in turn the shooter was in turn killed by based security forces, according to the Navy. According to the Navy, the incident occurred at approximately 11:20 p.m. at Pier 1 on board USS Mahan (DDG 72). No other injuries have been reported. Naval Station Norfolk was briefly put on lockdown as a precautionary measure, with the lockdown lasting approximately 45 minutes. With the exception of Pier 1, operations have
Unmanned Aircraft Completes First Carrier Trials
and produced two X-47B aircraft for the program. One aircraft was on the ship; the other remains at Naval Air Station Patuxent River where it is undergoing additional shore-based carrier suitability testing. The deck trials were conducted both while the USS Harry S. Truman was in port at Naval Station Norfolk, and while the ship was under way off the coast of Virginia. Mackey said the testing included taxiing the X-47B on the flight deck, maneuvering the aircraft up to the ship's catapults using the Northrop Grumman-designed Control Display Unit; taxiing the aircraft over the ship's arresting
Unmanned Aircraft Taxies on US Aircraft Carrier
gathered for the UCAS-D team," said Tarver. "A carrier environment can only be simulated to a certain extent on land, so we have to take our time when it comes to evolutions like this." The X-47B is scheduled to complete taxi testing before Truman returns to its homeport in Naval Station Norfolk.
February 2025
