Sam LaGrone
USNI News
Washington, DC, United States
Contact Sam
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Sam:
Navy, Coast Guard Wrap Chinese Spy Balloon Recovery off South Carolina
The Navy and Coast Guard have finished collecting the remnants of a Chinese high altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, U.S. Northern Command announced Friday. “Recovery operations concluded Feb. 16 off the coast of South Carolina, after U.S. Navy assets assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully located and retrieved debris from the … → Read More
Navy Starts $80M Project to Reinforce Four Puget Sound Dry Docks
SAN DIEGO – The Navy started work on two Washington state submarine dry docks that the service shuttered last month over fears of earthquake damage, USNI News learned. Late last month, the service closed four dry docks – three at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., and the delta pier … → Read More
PACFLEET CO Paparo Talks Combat Logistics, Chinese Coercion
SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Navy needs to shed 20 years of how it rearmed and repaired its fleet and prepare for a future of increased risk and contested logistics, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Tuesday. The old way the U.S. moved material forward in the most cost-effective manner is no longer … → Read More
Navy Contracted Salvage Ship Underway to Collect Chinese Spy Balloon Remains
A contracted offshore supply vessel left Virginia bound for the crash site of the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, USNI News has learned. HOS Rosebud departed from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., Wednesday afternoon, according to ship spotters. Defense officials confirmed to USNI News Monday the ship would embark … → Read More
First Fighters Land Aboard India’s New Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant
An Indian-built light fighter was the first to land aboard and launch from the Indian Navy’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, the service announced this week. A naval variant of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made an arrested landing aboard INS Vikrant (R 11) before then again launching from the carrier’s ski-jump … → Read More
Navy Underwater Robots, Divers Searching for Remains of Chinese Spy Balloon
A U.S. amphibious warship, explosive and ordnance divers and underwater robots are off the coast of South Carolina surveying about a square mile off the Atlantic Ocean for the remains of a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter shot down on Saturday, defense officials told reporters on Monday. USS Carter Hall (LSD-50), Explosive Ordnance … → Read More
DARPA Awards Contracts for Long-Range ‘Liberty Lifter’ Flying Boat Design
The Pentagon’s emerging technologies research arm awarded two aviation companies contracts to develop seaplanes that would fly less than 100 feet off the ground and carry 90 tons of cargo more than 6,500 nautical miles, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday. General Atomics, working with Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, and Aurora Flight Sciences, working with … → Read More
DARPA Awards Contracts for Long-Range ‘Liberty Lifter’ Flying Boat Design
The Pentagon’s emerging technologies research arm awarded two aviation companies contracts to develop seaplanes that would fly less than 100 feet off the ground and carry 90 tons of cargo more than 6,500 nautical miles, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday. General Atomics, working with Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, and Aurora Flight Sciences, working with … → Read More
White House Nominates New Commanders for Pacific, Middle East Fleets
Two admirals currently serving in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff have been nominated to lead numbered fleets in the Middle East and the Pacific, the Department of Defense announced on Friday. Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, currently the vice director for Operations (J-3) on the Joint Staff, has been nominated for a third star and … → Read More
Navy Closes 4 Puget Sound Submarine Dry Docks Following Earthquake Risk Study
Four dry docks the Navy uses to overhaul nuclear submarines in Washington are temporarily closed after the service found they are at risk for earthquake damage, service officials told USNI News on Thursday. The dry docks, three at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., and the delta pier at the … → Read More
Marines Buy 2 XQ-58A Valkyrie Drones for 'Collaborative Killer' Concept Testing
The Marine Corps used a new Pentagon program designed to quickly prototype systems for conflict in the Pacific to buy two unmanned aerial vehicles last month for $15.5 million, a service official told USNI News on Tuesday. The contract to Kratos for the pair of XQ-58A Valkyrie “loyal wingman” drones was bought through the Naval Air … → Read More
Iranian Navy Flotilla Heading to Rio de Janeiro
A two-ship Iranian surface group is set to arrive today for a port visit in Rio de Janeiro as part of a round-the-world cruise, local and Iranian press reported this weekend. Frigate IRIS Dena and IRIS Makran, Iran’s largest warship, deployed from the Persian Gulf last year and has traveled east through the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, the … → Read More
Iranian Navy Flotilla Heading to Rio de Janeiro
A two-ship Iranian surface group is set to arrive today for a port visit in Rio de Janeiro as part of a round-the-world cruise, local and Iranian press reported this weekend. Frigate IRIS Dena and IRIS Makran, Iran’s largest warship, deployed from the Persian Gulf last year and has traveled east through the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, the … → Read More
CNO Gilday: Next-Generation Air Dominance Will Come Ahead of DDG(X) Destroyer
ARLINGTON, Va. – First the fighter, then the destroyer and finally the submarine. That’s the order the Navy is set to introduce its next three major acquisition programs in the 2030s, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said last week. The Navy’s next large surface warship program – now known as DDG(X) – might … → Read More
BREAKING: Navy Training Aircraft Crashes in Alabama, Pilots Ejected Safely
A Navy training aircraft crashed in Alabama Tuesday morning, a service spokesperson told USNI News on Tuesday. The two-seat T-6B Texan II flew from Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., and went down near Gateswood, Ala., — about 45 miles away, a spokesperson confirmed to USNI News. “At approximately 10:50 a.m. CST, two pilots ejected … → Read More
Navy Wants Independence LCS in Bahrain for Mine Countermeasure Mission
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy could deploy the aluminum hull, Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship to the Middle East as part of a future mine-countermeasures force in U.S. Central Command, service officials said. Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, the commander of Naval Surface Forces, said the Navy could send up to two of the Independence-class to Bahrain … → Read More
CNO Gilday to Shipbuilders: 'Pick Up the Pace'
ARLINGTON, Va. – The defense industry needs to deliver ships faster to justify the boost of billions in shipbuilding funds signed into law last month, the Navy’s top officer said on Tuesday. For the last two budget cycles, the Navy has maxed out its shipbuilding accounts to what it thinks the major shipyards can deliver … → Read More
USNI News Interview: Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan
WASHINGTON, D.C., – The Coast Guard commandant has a message for the country – she’s hiring. The Coast Guard is feeling an acute recruiting crunch across both officer and enlisted ranks, so reforming the service workforce is at the top of Adm. Linda Fagan’s agenda and the centerpiece of the Coast Guard’s latest strategy that … → Read More
Iran Building Drone Aircraft Carrier from Converted Merchant Ship, Photos Show
In a dry dock near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, Iran’s sectarian naval force is converting a former merchant container ship into a drone aircraft carrier, according to satellite and open source photos published last week by USNI News contributor H I Sutton. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ship Shahid Mahdavi is a former … → Read More
Japanese MoD Releases New Details on Ballistic Missile Defense Ships
The Japanese Ministry of Defense released last week new details on Tokyo’s plan to build two ballistic missile defense warships to counter North Korean missiles. On Dec. 23, the MoD released additional details on the two BMD ships Japan elected to procure after canceling two planned Aegis Ashore BMD batteries, reported Naval News. “The document released … → Read More