– War Zone – Amid news of the partnership and the Navy’s questionable budget plan for the program, we talked to General Atomics and got their take.

– USNI News – The Eastern Mediterranean is becoming “one of the most kinetic areas in the world,” as the U.S., NATO, Russia and China operate more and more in the crowded region, the Navy’s top officer in Europe said on Tuesday.

– Defense News – The Navy will grow by more than 40 ships over the next five years, the Navy’s Budget director said Monday. But while the fleet will grow rapidly in the near term, the gains will sputter out shortly thereafter.

– USNI News – The Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial tanker project, previously described as a rapid acquisition program for the department, is now not set to be integrated into the air wing until 2026.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is getting larger and adding an extra ship to its fleet in 2019, over its 2018 request, but the total shipbuilding budget request seems to make little headway toward a 355-ship fleet called for in a review last year.

– Breaking Defense – It takes a million dollars and at least 50 technical experts just to get a carrier strike group’s networks working right before a deployment.

– USNI Proceedings – Naval technology and systems complexity have exploded over the past 50 years, while our surface warfare officer (SWO) assignment policies have not changed since World War II—i.e., any surface warfare officer can go into any billet on any ship type. Unlike their submarine and aviation counterparts, the leaders of the surface warfare community have embraced the generalist philosophy to the point of destruction.

– USNI Proceedings – The Navy’s ability to accomplish its mission is at risk from one primary factor—the high cost of manning its ships. There is no question that personnel costs consume an increasing percentage of the Navy’s budget. Over the past several decades, numerous commissions and studies have identified the challenge of the cost of military manpower, especially its impact on the total ownership cost of weapon systems.

– National Interest – How can the U.S. Navy destroy North Korea should Washington give the word? It can’t. Or at least it stands little chance of doing so by its lonesome barring improbable circumstances. What the navy can do is contribute to a joint or multinational campaign that destroys the Northern regime or its armed forces. But even that would involve perils, hardships and steep costs.

– War Zone – The service wants to put off critical testing for years, but a recent Pentagon report says the USS Ford barely works in optimal conditions.

– USNI Proceedings – A small force of U.S. Navy patrol ships has sailed the waters of the Arabian Gulf for the last 15 years, guarding key maritime infrastructure, conducting escort operations, exercising with international partners, supporting special operations forces, and keeping an eye on regional military moves. The ten Cyclone -class patrol coastals (PC) are some of the Navy’s busiest warships and likely would be the first to see action if Iran becomes openly belligerent. Refitting the Cyclone -class might buy the Navy some time but ultimately the Cyclones inevitably are wearing and need to be replaced.

– USNI Proceedings – The term “lethality” can be associated with any number of things in the Navy. Oftentimes it will be associated with a weapon system, such as those found on a naval aircraft, surface combatants, or submarines. But how often are our personnel associated with lethality?

– Popular Science – Railguns are another way the PLAN hopes to get an edge in 21st-century naval warfare.

– USNI Proceedings – Excessive time spent away from ships is doing a disservice to surface warfare commanding officers.