Defense

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is willing to pay more for new ships upfront if it means saving on maintenance and personnel costs throughout the life of the program, the head of amphibious, auxiliary and sealift programs told industry. Tom Rivers, whose programs fall under the Program Executive Office for Ships, said “design for maintainability and flexibility” is one of the top focus areas…

WASHINGTON — General Electric’s Research Lab set a little autonomous robot loose in a wooded course in upstate New York in a demonstration for the U.S. Army, and the vehicle scooted quickly along, steering clear of downed branches, crunching over leaf piles and getting tripped up only once when it became wedged between two trees. The robot paused, attempted a new path and thunked up against…

WASHINGTON – If the federal government ends up operating under a continuing resolution this fall, the U.S. Navy wouldn’t be able to buy the ships and weapons it needs in fiscal 2022, wouldn’t have enough money operate the fleet and might have to cut back on people, the Navy’s top budget officer said. Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, said…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s ship-based electronic countermeasure system will provide an unlimited supply of ammunition against incoming threats, allowing the service to be more dynamic, and will open up new concepts for other capabilities, the system’s contractor said. The Block III of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, or SEWIP, provides ships a non-kinetic, electronic…