– War Zone – The Zumwalt’s interior spaces are remarkably uncluttered and spacious for a Navy surface combatant.

– Defense News – U.S. Marines based out of Norway, another Marine expeditionary unit operating from Sicily. U.S. submarines forward-deployed to Scotland, littoral combat ships in the Mediterranean. Supply ships, fleet oilers and amphibious ships armed with cruise missiles. A third aviation-centered assault ship. More networked connectivity. Those are just some of the changes and enhancements proposed by the new iNavy concept – i for Improved Navy — a set of force enhancements that, according to its proponents, can be implemented over the next five years to make the existing fleet more lethal and effective.

– CIMSEC – A conversation with Ray Mabus, former Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), to talk about his experience leading the Navy.

– The War Zone – Bringing back its last operational conventionally powered supercarrier would help the Navy make its 12 carrier fleet goal a reality.

– USNI News – Fifty ships set sail in the Baltic Sea this week for the annual NATO exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS), with this year’s event including a larger aviation component and a larger adversary “red force” in the hopes of creating a realistic scenario for high-end warfare in Europe.

– AP – Around 4,000 U.S. and European troops from 14 nations took part in the annual Baltic Operations navy exercise that opened Thursday in Poland’s Baltic Sea port of Szczecin. The 45th edition of the so-called BALTOPS exercise involves maritime, air and ground forces with about 50 ships and submarines and over 50 aircraft, and will run through June 16.

– War Zone – The U.S. Navy is leading developing a new 155mm artillery round capable of destroying moving targets on land or at sea that could end up in use across three services, including the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. More importantly, the precision munitions will not use GPS, making them useful even in GPS denied environments.

– National Interest – The P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane may not be as sexy as an F-35 stealth fighter, but in some ways it is far closer to the forefront of international flashpoints in the Pacific Ocean. Maritime patrol planes are essential for tracking the movement of ships and especially submarines across vast oceanic waters—and potentially sinking them in the event of hostilities.

– Defense News – Lockheed Martin, frustrated by changing requirements the company feels are skewed to a particular competitor, is dropping out of the U.S. Navy’s over-the-horizon missile program intended to give a lethal capability to littoral combat ships and frigates.

– US Naval Institute Blog – As the environment in the Arctic changes, the Navy plans to take deliberate action to increase its operations in the region.

– Breaking Defense – Despite his campaign pledge of a 350-ship fleet, President Trump’s first budget cuts Navy shipbuilding and aircraft procurement below what was enacted in 2017, documents released today reveal. Despite Trump’s criticism of President Obama’s defense plans, this budget sticks with Obama’s shipbuilding plan for 2018: eight ships.

– USNI News – Since the last Pentagon budget request 15 months ago there’s been a presidential election, a seven-month continuing resolution, a supplemental spending bill, promises from the new administration for a military spending spree, vows from inside the Pentagon to rebuild readiness and multiple studies looking at what a future naval fleet should look like.

In the churn leading up to this week’s release of the Fiscal Year 2018 budget request to Congress, questions still remain on the Navy’s acquisition and readiness plans. The following is a list of important policy and acquisition issues that Navy officials have declined to comment on but have assured USNI News and the public that answers would be found in the budget request.

– National Interest – With current technology, even a 355-ship United States Navy will not be sufficient to meet the threats of tomorrow. Indeed, the conclusion of a new Navy white paper authored by the chief of naval operations is that not only will tomorrow’s fleet have to be larger, it will have to become far more capable far more quickly than any of the recent fleet design studies have indicated.

– Breaking Defense – All hands, brace for disappointment. The president’s promised naval buildup won’t begin in the 2018 budget out next week — or maybe ever.

– Breaking Defense – Consider 35 pounds of metal moving at Mach 5.8. Ten shots per minute. 1,000 shots before the barrel wears out under the enormous pressures. That’s the devastating firepower the Navy railgun program aims to deliver in the next two years, and they’re well on their way.

– Defense News – The full text of the CNO’s “The Future Navy” paper.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy needs more ships and needs them fast, said the chief of naval operations (CNO), but beyond that, the service might be on the verge of something which could transform naval warfare.

– Breaking Defense – The Navy is seriously considering derivatives of foreign designs and the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter for its new frigate, after three years pursuing an upgraded version of its current Littoral Combat Ship. The shift has shaken up the industry, panicking some players, while others quietly reposition.

– CIMSEC – A significant science and technology gap currently exists between the military forces of the United States and those of most of the rest of the world. This gap is by design and has long served as a centerpiece of U.S. defense strategy. While it has allowed the U.S. to maintain military primacy for decades, the technical capabilities of many allies and partners now lag far behind, raising concerns about the gap’s impacts on interoperability.

– Politico – The president promised to restore America’s strength on the high seas. Here’s how he can actually do it.

– C-SPAN Q & A – Chris Cavas talked about the U.S. Navy’s s “Fat Leonard” scandal involving Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and more than two dozen Navy officials, including several admirals.

– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – Potential U.S. adversaries are studying the ideas of the great maritime strategist; we should be doing the same.

– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – The aircraft carrier has become so central to the U.S. Navy that its defeat would be catastrophic.

– Defense News – The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is operating in the Philippine Sea and, according to the head of U.S. Pacific Command, is within about two hours’ flying time to the Korean Peninsula.

– Navy Times – Something has gone terribly wrong on the cruiser Hue City’s deployment. Seven chief petty officers on Hue City were punished by their commanding officer, six in relation to adulterous affairs.