With the Senate in recess, three of the military branches are guaranteed to have acting chiefs of staff. And due to a political impasse, it's unclear when the situation will be resolved.
The exercise highlighting unmanned tech follows what the Navy sees as the success of the cutting edge Task Force 59 under 5th Fleet in the Middle East.
While the Navy secretary insists he will meet the requirements under the law, Sen. Dan Sullivan says he's prepping legislation to force the Navy's hand.
A career surface warfare officer, Franchetti is currently Vice Chief of Naval Operations and previously commanded the Naples, Italy-based US 6th Fleet.
The mine countermeasures mission packages replaces the Navy's legacy Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships, among other platforms.
The company spent $300 million on four projects with the hopes of seeing two frigates being bought every year, which is faster than the Navy's current projection.
It was not clear when President Joe Biden and his counterparts announced AUKUS' details whether those subs would be replaced by new Virginia-class boats or SSN(X).
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro recently said the service is slightly behind its "accelerated" schedule goals for the shipbuilding program.
Unmanned vessels will head to 4th Fleet this summer, with a mission to "deter the flow of drugs" into the US, according to a top Navy official.
Any more "lapses" or "hesitation" could cause a backslide in the progress the government has already made, the MARAD chiefs said.
LPD-32 was at the center of an unusual public dispute between two service chiefs during a Washington, DC event in March.
“I just mentioned we haven’t put the [third] ship on contract yet. The line is already running behind,” CNO Adm. Michael Gilday said.
“You’ve seen the Russian effectiveness from the maritime has been declining. The very reason [is] that the Ukrainians have become better at targeting and using the weapons that we that we provided them,” said CNO Adm. Michael Gilday.
The production line could be extended to 2027 if the Indian Navy chooses the fighter aircraft.
"I remain an optimist that we're going to be able to work our way through those challenges with respect to ITAR," Adm. Mike Gilday told Breaking Defense during a recent visit to Sydney.