WASHINGTON -- On March 13, 2026, the U.S. Navy issued a $96 million contract to HII Newport News Shipbuilding for advanced planning and long lead materials ahead of the inactivation of the USS Nimitz at its Virginia shipyard. The contract announcement revealed that the service will be keeping its oldest active aircraft carrier in service until March 2027. The USS Nimitz, originally scheduled for decommissioning in May 2026, will remain in the fleet 10 months longer than expected. The prolonged decommissioning aligns with the scheduled March 2027 arrival of the next carrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy, allowing the Navy to maintain a fleet of 11 carriers.

The USS Nimitz completed what was expected to be its last full deployment in December 2025. It’s unclear if the service plans to deploy the carrier again as a result of the extension. The Nimitz finished its midlife refueling in 2001, and the Navy closely guards the level of nuclear fuel in its carriers. In the past, carriers waiting for midlife refueling served as training platforms for aviators and sailed in local exercises.

Source: USNI
Associated URL: https://news.usni.org/2026/03/14/navy-extends-uss-nimitz-service-life-to-2027-in-line-with-carrier-john-f-kennedys-delivery

WASHINGTON -- On March 16, 2026, the U.S. Navy announced that it is establishing five new portfolio acquisition executives, known as PAEs, as part of a wider acquisition reform initiative across the services. The Navy established the first PAE for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in December 2025, and the service said that it is now standing up the following PAE organizations: PAE Maritime, led by Chris Miller; PAE Undersea, led by Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher; PAE Industrial Operations, led by Vice Adm. James Downey; PAE Strategic Systems Programs, led by Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe; and PAE Marine Corps, led by Lt. Gen. Eric Austin. According to the Navy, this restructuring aims to instill the PAE model as the "new operational standard for the acquisition enterprise," and makes those who oversee these new PAE organizations the single, accountable official for their respective portfolios.

Source: Breaking Defense
Associated URL: https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/navy-unveils-acquisition-reform-establishes-five-more-pae-organizations/?utm_campaign=BD%20Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9JmpyJRuXSyIaVWMcrTHwCA0yj5Baj0Y_8ocE6IWxhASqjYN-Umdd4Gzk8dBi4aKgXVfGblDBjozG9OKpj5xd0DVR

BERLIN -- The German Ministry of Defense has confirmed its intention to purchase four MEKO A-200 frigates from shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The Ministry simultaneously announced that the ongoing F-126 frigate program would be delayed, making the four interim MEKO frigates a priority.

German media first reported the Navy's plans to procure at least three MEKO A-200 frigates as a stopgap measure in January, building on existing suspicions of an interim procurement. The F-126 program, originally headed by the Netherlands' Damen Shipbuilding, but planned to be re-organized under German firm Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL), has struggled to meet production milestones, leading to widespread delays and schedule slippage. Originally planned to deliver eight ships by the early 2020s, today the program expects to deliver six, with the lead ship pushed back to 2028 at the earliest.

TKMS' MEKO A-200 offers a smaller but proven design to fill the capability gap of the F-126 while the program is brought back on course. The design has been in service with several navies in different configurations, including most recently Egypt's purchase of four vessels approved in 2021.

Source: Naval News
Associated URL: https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/03/german-mod-plans-to-purchase-four-meko-a-200-class-frigates/
Author: Waldemar Geiger