***Have been out of pocket for conference attendance***
The US Navy and the Pentagon continue the grand sclerotic and arthritic three ring circus of staggering inabilities to deliver any exquisite platforms on time, on budget and within scope. The sterling track record of bumbling an incompetence at the galactic level continues to amaze observers around eh world.
For decades, mountains of red tape have stifled innovation and slowed the defense industrial base’s ability to respond to emerging global threats and even basic requirements.
- The new Air Force One is now five years behind schedule, delayed until 2029 or later, despite the contract being awarded in 2018.
- Nine Navy ship programs (not just individual ships, but the entire procurement program) are between one and three years behind schedule.
- The first flight of the Air Force’s new ICBM, the Sentinel, is already two years behind schedule and 37% more expensive than originally promised.
- The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is in port for a scheduled overhaul and refueling stint—work that normally takes four years to complete—yet the carrier now won’t be ready for at least another year, marking over five years out of service.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-modernizes-defense-acquisitions-and-spurs-innovation-in-the-defense-industrial-base/
The disaster continues apace.
The report was sent to the four congressional defense committees in mid-January. Navy Secretary John Phelan will begin his fiscal 2026 budget testimony Wednesday before the House defense appropriations subcommittee.
A Navy spokesman couldn’t provide more details on why the five systems were listed as low performers, citing the reasons as “controlled unclassified information.”
Systems listed as meeting their goals, or best performing, were the AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar for Aegis destroyers, the MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone, KC-130J transport and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye surveillance aircraft.
The hapless Constellation frigate program joins a host of underperformed and acquisition disasters that march in glory with the US Navy unblezihe track record since 1991 of ship-building acquisition disasters.
Aside from the frigate, the list of low performers cited in the report includes General Atomics’ Advanced Arresting Gear or AAG installed on the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, and Northrop Grumman Corp’s new extended range anti-radar missile.
A GA spokesperson said the Navy would respond for comment. A Northrop Grumman spokesperson referred comment to the Navy.
Meanwhile, the program manager of Boeing Co.’s unmanned MQ-25 Stingray drone designed to refuel Navy jets, which was also named in the report, said the company has owned its challenges. The program’s initial production has been delayed by at least two years because of issues with some of the aircraft’s design and manufacturing process, according to a Pentagon assessment.
“We are on track for our first flight later this year,” said Troy Rutherford, Boeing’s vice president for the program.
Another low performer listed in the report is Textron Inc.’s “Ship To Shore” Marine Corps hovercraft, which has had previous propeller blade and gearbox issues.
Ryan Schaffernocker, senior vice president for marine systems at Textron, said in a statement: “Our team and suppliers based across the US have established an efficient production line that has delivered 13 craft with 14 more in production or test.”
Frigate Touted By Trump Is Among Navy’s ‘Least Performing’ Programs
