
HII Launched the Future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28)
The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was successfully launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 28.

The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was successfully launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 28.

The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $1.5 billion production contract for the next 18 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The contract includes eight aircraft for the U.S. Navy, six aircraft for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy) and four aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

Raytheon Company will produce and deliver SM-3® Block IB interceptors under a $2.1 billion, multi-year U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract. It is the first multi-year contract for the SM-3 program, and covers fiscal years 2019–2023.

Here is Naval News’ Monthly Recap video for March 2020.

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to “Blue Blasters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 34, landed aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) flight deck marking the 1,000th recovery of a fixed wing aircraft using Ford’s Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) March 19, 2020 at 5:13 p.m.

The U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) developmental pod recently completed a portion of developmental testing in the Air Combat Environmental Test and Evaluation Facility anechoic chamber at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

The Department of Defense successfully tested a hypersonic glide body in a flight experiment conducted from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, March 19 at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time (HST).

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) will be routed to New York City to help alleviate non-COVID-19 medical needs, President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday. USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) will be tasked to support the West Coast, though the location is still being decided.

The U.S. Navy deployed a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) from Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 “the Pelicans” to assist the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) in testing a surface task group’s air defenses.

The future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) successfully completed acceptance trials on March 12, returning to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Ingalls Shipbuilding Division after spending two days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico.