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John Phelan

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Daryl Caudle testifies in a budget hearing for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to discuss the Navy’s fiscal year 2027 budget and strategic posture in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Elliott Fabrizio).

Navy comes ‘full circle’ on nuclear power for next-generation battleship

“I'm thrilled that we finally landed on the fact it's going to be nuclear," Adm. Daryl Caudle said.
Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable John C. Phelan, stands during the national anthem at the commissioning ceremony of the Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) in Norfolk, Virginia, April 11, 2026. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Oliver McCain Vieira)

Hung Cao to take over as acting SECNAV after Phelan’s unexpected exit from Trump administration

Phelan’s surprise exit comes a day after he delivered a keynote address at the Sea-Air-Space symposium, in which he touted plans for a next-generation battleship.
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Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) stand watch in the ship’s Combat Information Center during an operation in the Red Sea to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, Oct. 19, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)

Navy program turns ships into continuous data pipelines for AI development

Applied Intuition has delivered the first Data Edge Collection Kit to the Navy, which will allow the service to constantly collect AI-ready data from the operational environment.
Secretary of the Army, Honorable Daniel P. Driscoll, receives a hands-on walkthrough of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launcher from Soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, March 26, 2025. The briefing included launcher components, critical safety features, and maintenance responsibilities required to sustain air and missile defense readiness. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. JaDarius Duncan)

Making the wrong things go faster at the Department of War

In this exclusive Op-Ed, legendary defense innovation expert and academic Steve Blank explains why the new Warfighting Acquisition System is at risk of making the wrong things…
US President Donald Trump leaves after announcing the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump, Navy leaders reveal plans for new battleships armed with nukes, lasers, railguns and hypersonic missiles. Analysts anticipate problems.

Their ambitious vision for the platform could run into a variety of technological and budgetary challenges, analysts say.
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