The Navy’s top officer has announced that the fleet this year will shrink by a net of at least 10 warships, bringing the total below 280. The fleet hasn’t been that small since the 1930s, when the US was a regional power and the Navy did not have global duties. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations, noted that the Navy will take delivery of three new destroyers, three bew amphibious transport docks, and one new attack submarine, but those additions are offset by retirements.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
