Navy

The Navy's decision to shelve seven warships ahead of schedule was the best choice the service could make in the face of unrelenting budget pressures, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Monday. 

Two U.S. troops were killed and another two hospitalized when a V-22 Osprey crashed in southern Morocco last Wednesday.

Defense committees have called senior Navy and Marine Corps brass to Capitol Hill to defend the newly-minted ship strategy. 

The Navy has indefinitely shelved one of its high-profile aerial drone programs pending inquiries into two recent crashes in Africa and Afghanistan.

An F-18 Navy plane crashed into an apartment building Friday in Virginia, according to the Navy and media reports.

The two pilots ejected from the plane safely, the Navy said, and were taken to a local hospital.

The F/A-18D Hornet crashed at about 12:05 p.m. Friday in Virginia Beach, Va. The plane crashed just after takeoff near the base, according to the Navy.

The Defense secretary assured lawmakers the Navy's five-year shipbuilding plan would provide adequate support for defense firms.

The lawmakers butted heads with Navy brass in a hearing over consequences and costs of retiring several warships early.

The U.S. Navy has denied any involvement in the shelling of suspected al Qaeda hideouts in southern Yemen on Thursday, days after a Yemeni terrorist cell tied to the group claimed responsibility for the murder of an American citizen. 

No American warships from the service's Fifth Fleet or elsewhere in the region were involved in those operations, Navy officials told The Hill. Fifth Fleet the home of Naval Forces Central Command and is headquartered in Bahrain. 

A top admiral told lawmakers on Thursday that the Navy's long-term budget plan for ships will fall short of requirements set by commanders.

Beginning in fiscal 2013, the Navy's long-term budget framework has its fleet topping out at roughly 300 ships by 2020. The problem is the Navy needs at least 500 warships to meet the base requirements of military commanders around the world.

That minimum number of ships and submarines is what Vice Admiral William Burke told members of the House Armed Services readiness subpanel the Navy needed to support combat operations worldwide.

Comparing the cuts to the effects of a government shutdown, Greenert said “this would be that to the nth degree.”