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.
President Donald Trump is interested in developing a twin-engined, upgraded version of the F-35 fighter, he said during a press event May 15 in Qatar marking the sale of Boeing airliners and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways. He said he would name the improved aircraft the “F-55” and also…