The U.S. Navy has unveiled a shipbuilding plan that aims to expand the naval fleet in support of the great power competition and future peacekeeping, DoD News reported Thursday. The annual 30-year shipbuilding plan demands a modernized, expanded fleet that will consist of both manned and unmanned naval vessels.

The Navy built the plan on a study, titled “Future Naval Force Structure,” which aimed to identify long-term peacekeeping methods. The study identified new pursuits such as the use of small, multi-mission vessels that would streamline how the Navy assigns ships to missions.

"Our vision of a free and open international order depends upon our ability to maintain U.S. maritime dominance and freedom of maneuver," said David Norquist, deputy secretary of defense and a two-time Wash100 Award winner.

The U.S. Navy will establish new networks to foster technology collaboration between businesses, nonprofits, academic institutions and investors in Florida and Hawaii.

The service branch said Wednesday it will stand up two NavalX Tech Bridge networks in Panama City, Florida, and Honolulu, Hawaii, respectively, as additions to the U.S. military’s innovation force.

These new Tech Bridges will allow the Navy’s industrial partners to access and assess emerging naval technologies across a wide range of focus areas.

The Panama City-based Gulf Coast Tech Bridge will tackle assured maritime access, oceanography, operational meteorology and coastal sciences. The Honolulu-based Hawaii Tech Bridge will focus on space, intelligence, command and control, cybersecurity, infrastructure and communications.

Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Naval Research Laboratory and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City worked together to establish Gulf Coast Tech Bridge.

On the other hand, Hawaii Tech Bridge is a joint effort between Hawaii Technology Development Corp., the University of Hawaii and Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Detachment Pacific. The Navy expects Hawaii Tech Bridge to work with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and U.S. Pacific Fleet in the future.

“Today’s Tech Bridge additions are a symbol of the Department of Navy’s momentum to rapidly deliver capabilities into the hands of our sailors and marines,” said James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

Boeing and the U.S. Navy have completed the first test flight for MQ-25 T1 with an aerial refueling store (ARS), the company reported on Wednesday. The successful 2.5-hour flight with the Cobham ARS was designed to test the aircraft’s aerodynamics with the ARS mounted under the wing. 

“Having a test asset flying with an ARS gets us one big step closer in our evaluation of how MQ-25 will fulfill its primary mission in the fleet – aerial refueling,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. “T1 will continue to yield valuable early insights as we begin flying with F/A-18s and conduct deck handling testing aboard a carrier.”

The flight was conducted by Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. Future flights will continue to test the aerodynamics of the aircraft and the ARS, eventually progressing to extension and retraction of the hose and drogue used for refueling.

T1 is being used for early learning and discovery, laying the foundation for development and testing of the MQ-25. 

“To see T1 fly with the hardware and software that makes MQ-25 an aerial refueler this early in the program is a visible reminder of the capability we’re bringing to the carrier deck,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “We’re ensuring the ARS and the software operating it will be ready to help MQ-25 extend the range of the carrier air wing.”

About Boeing

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. 

Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

A second uncrewed test flight for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft is now scheduled for no earlier than the end of March, SpaceNews reported on Friday. NASA and Boeing announced Dec. 9 that the launch of the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission is scheduled for March 29 on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral. 

“The pacing item really is getting the software ready to go,” said Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, said. “As they continue to make progress on the flight software and the testing of that software, we’ll be able to refine that date a little bit better.”

Boeing had completed more than 90 percent of the recommended actions from an independent review earlier this year of the original OFT mission, NASA stated. “NASA and Boeing are doing a tremendous amount of work on all aspects of their flight software,” Stich said in the statement.

“With each vehicle closeout, line of code tested and document delivered, we’re on a path to proving we have a robust, fully operational vehicle,” said John Vollmer, Starliner vice president and program manager at Boeing.

While engineers complete updates to the spacecraft’s software, the spacecraft itself is nearing final assembly, Boeing said, with all the major components if the crew capsule installed and final checkouts of systems underway. It will then be mated to the spacecraft’s service module, which is already complete.

The CFT mission will fly NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Nicole Mann and Barry Wilmore to the ISS. NASA and Boeing announced in Oct. 2020 that Wilmore would replace Boeing’s Chris Ferguson. 

Wilmore will begin training with his crewmates immediately in preparation for the 2021 flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Boeing will focus on delivering safe, reliable and cost-effective solutions for crew transportation services to and from the ISS. 

“My personal thank you to Chris for his leadership; he is putting his family first, which Boeing fully supports,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space & Security and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, in regards to the appointment. “We are fortunate he will continue to take an active role on the Starliner program and bring his depth and breadth of experience in human spaceflight to the program.”

The Partnership for Public Service and Microsoft have released a report on how three government agencies adopted technology platforms to expand existing services and establish a new function during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a chatbot to address the increasing number of inquiries, enabling call center personnel to focus on calls regarding urgent medical concerns and personal requests.

“Response from veterans has been positive. Within the first few months, the chatbot saw more than 53,000 unique user sessions. During peak usage, the chatbot responded to twice as many coronavirus-related queries as did the VA tier 1 contact center over the same period of time,” the report reads.

The South Bend Common Council in Indiana responded to the health crisis by transitioning to virtual meetings to facilitate discussion on issues, while the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering launched the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, an initiative that facilitates analysis of medical images to detect and treat COVID-19 using artificial intelligence.

The report also mentioned several lessons learned from agencies that turned to technology during the health crisis, such as establishing a technology foundation, assessing how technology can enable mission delivery, monitoring cybersecurity concerns and putting users first when designing tech platforms.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has offered five recommendations to help the Department of Defense (DoD) implement its latest strategy for addressing challenges related to the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) and ensure superiority in EMS.

GAO said Thursday the DoD secretary should direct the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to determine processes needed to provide for integrated defensewide strategy, budgeting and planning related to EMS operations and propose operational, management, governance and organizational reforms related to EMS.

The Pentagon chief should designate clear responsibility to a senior official to initiate action for the long-term implementation of the 2020 EMS strategy, release an actionable implementation plan within 180 days after issuance of the latest strategy and establish oversight processes to facilitate the implementation of the EMS strategy.

DoD released its latest EMS strategy in September 2020, according to the congressional watchdog.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to uphold its designation of Huawei Technologies as a national security threat after it voted to deny the company’s request for a review of FCC’s order in June 2020.

The denial of Huawei’s application for review of the order by the commission's public safety and homeland security bureau suggests that organizations may no longer use FCC’s Universal Service Fund to buy, maintain, modify or support any services or equipment from the company, the commission said Thursday.

“In denying that application, the Commission today recognized the overwhelming evidence of Huawei’s close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military and intelligence apparatus, and affirmed the Bureau’s determination that Huawei poses a threat to the security and integrity of the nation’s communications networks or the communications supply chain,” the FCC notice reads.