Maritime leaders discuss the Navy’s heading at Sea Air Space 2025

[Ryan Robertson]

THANKS TO THE DEMANDS OF THEIR VARIOUS JOBS, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO GATHER AMERICA’S MARITIME LEADERSHIP IN ONE PLACE TO TALK ABOUT WHERE THE NAVY IS, AND WHERE IT’S GOING. WHICH IS WHAT MAKES ‘SEA, AIR, SPACE’ SUCH AN IMPORTANT EVENT ON THE CALENDAR.

THE ACTING CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, ADMIRAL JAMES KILBY, MET WITH THE MEDIA, AND MODERATED A PANEL WITH FIVE DIFFERENT NAVY COMMANDERS WHERE THEY ADDRESSED SOME RECENT WINS, AND AREAS WHERE THEY HAVE TO GET BETTER AS THEIR BRANCH CONTINUES TO MODERNIZE IN THE FACE OF A GROWING ARRAY OF THREATS. 

AMID THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE THAT’S THE NORM AT EVENTS LIKE THE NAVY LEAGUE’S SEA, AIR, SPACE, WERE PLENTY OF QUESTIONS FOR THE ACTING CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, ADMIRAL JAMES KILBY, AND FIVE OF HIS OPERATIONAL AND SYSTEMS COMMANDERS. ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT, HOW CLOSE IS THE BRANCH TO MEETING ITS GOAL OF 80% COMBAT SURGE READINESS? IN 2018 WHEN THEN-DEFENSE SECRETARY JAMES MATTIS TOLD THE NAVY TO GET ITS F/A-18 SUPER HORNET FLEET BACK UP TO SPEED, BUMPING UP THE NUMBER OF READY JETS FROM 250 TO 341. THE NAVY REVAMPED ITS MAINTENANCE PRACTICES AND HIT THE TARGET.

[VADM Daniel Cheever, Commander, Naval Air Forces/Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet at United States Navy]

“The truth is, it took well over a year to get there, and now to sustain it takes a all hands, effort, all the time with the naval aviation enterprise, op, nav, sec, nav staff, the whole the whole team. It’s pretty exciting. 

[Ryan Robertson]

INSPIRED BY THAT, OTHER PARTS OF THE NAVY, INCLUDING SURFACE AND SUBMARINE FORCES, HAVE ALSO STARTED CHANGING THEIR MAINTENANCE AND LOGISTICS TO BOOST THEIR READINESS.

AND THE NUMBERS SHOW THEY’RE GETTING THERE, THE CLOSEST TO THAT 80% GOAL IS THE BRANCH’S AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AT 70%, WHILE SUBMARINES AND SURFACE WARSHIPS ARE SITTING AT 67% AND 68% RESPECTIVELY. 

OF COURSE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST HURDLES FACING THE KILBY AND THE REST OF NAVY LEADERSHIP IS TWO-FOLD, TOO MANY BOATS STILL IN THE PRODUCTION PIPELINE, OR SITTING IN NEED OF LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE.

[VADM Brendan McLane, USN Commander, Naval Surface Forces Commander, Naval Surface Force, Pacific Fleet at United States Navy]

“The last part is partnering with industry, which we hear here too. We can’t do it by ourselves. I meet with industry on a weekly basis to talk about which avails are not going well, and the path that my predecessor, Admiral Kitchener started with, our North Star of 75 mission capable ships, has segued very well into our 80% combat search ready goal.”

[Ryan Robertson]

AFTER THE OPENING PANEL, ADMIRAL KILBY STEPPED AWAY FROM THE FESTIVITIES TO FIELD QUESTIONS FROM A SELECT GROUP OF MEDIA IN ATTENDANCE. WHILE COVERED A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS, THE WAS ONE THAT WAS AT THE TOP OF OUR LIST.

[Ryan Robertson]

“Speaking of timelines and things that the service branch needs, do you have any update on F/A-XX and how that’s going?”

[ADM James Kilby, Acting Chief of Naval Operations]

“Yeah, I don’t want to get ahead of the contract decision, but I will tell you, we need fax in the United States Navy, just like the Air Force does. I mean, we’re talking about a fight in the Pacific. We fight together as a joint force, so having that capability is very important for us. ”

[Ryan Robertson]

“Follow up, question is, what is the service like, what is left to be done before the contract decision is announced? I mean, there were rumors it was going to get announced a couple weeks ago. Weeks ago. What was the Navy waiting on?”

[ADM James Kilby, Acting Chief of Naval Operations]

“Yeah, it’s a decision at the secretary level and above and and they’re working that now.”

[Ryan Robertson]

ANOTHER AREA OF CONVERSATION, HOW TO HANDLE THE THREAT OF THE HOUTHIS AND OTHER BAD ACTORS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER, PARTICULARLY THE DRONE THREAT NOW POSED BY ANYONE WITH A LITTLE MONEY AND  BAD INTENTIONS. 

[ADM James Kilby, Acting Chief of Naval Operations]

“As a former N9 I was focused on a high-end laser, 500 kilowatts to one megawatt. And I have regret for that, that I had not been thoughtful enough to think about UAV threat, where I think a much lesser power weapon would have done what we needed to do. We are putting on capabilities on the Ford Strike Group. Who’s intercom 2x today, that it will be a much more cost effective way to deal with the UAV threat in particular. But we have to get after the industrial base, or munitions industrial base in the same manner we have to get after our ship building industrial base to increase more munitions.”

[Ryan Robertson]

WHEN PRESSED ON THE SUBJECT OF LASERS AS A SOLUTION, KILBY SAID IT’S THE KIND OF INVESTMENT THAT NEEDS TO BE FULLY FLESHED OUT. 

[ADM James Kilby, Acting Chief of Naval Operations] “I don’t want to abandon it, but I’m not, I’m not ready to go all in yet on buying these things until I can have a relatively sure output in an action”

[Ryan Robertson]

TO POINT A POINT ON THE PROBLEM, IN JANUARY VICE ADMIRAL BRENDAN MCLANE, THE HEAD OF NAVAL SURFACE FORCES, TOLD ATTENDEES OF THE SURFACE NAVY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, THAT OVER THE PREVIOUS 15 MONTHS, THE U.S. NAVY’S SURFACE FLEET LAUNCHED NEARLY 400 MUNITIONS IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST IRAN-BACKED HOUTHI REBELS IN THE RED SEA. THAT INCLUDED 120 S-M-2 MISSILES AT A COST OF $1.2 MILLION PER, 80 S-M-6 MISSILES AT $4 MILLION PER, ALONG WITH A TOTAL OF 20 EVOLVED SEA SPARROW MISSILES AND SM-3 MISSILE,  A NUMBER THAT WOULD LIKELY COST IN THE NINE DIGIT RANGE.