The Senate confirmed Adm. Daryl Caudle as chief of naval operations on August 1, 2025, ending a roughly six-month vacancy in the Navy's top military job following the February removal of Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
Signed on December 18, 2025 as Public Law 119-60, the fiscal year 2026 defense authorization act carried roughly $900 billion in defense funding, including about $26 billion for Navy shipbuilding and workforce measures for the shipbuilding industrial base.
U.S. Fleet Forces announced on April 24, 2025 that USS New York (LPD-21) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) would lead the Navy's participation in Fleet Week New York 2025, held May 21-27.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced on December 9, 2025 a $448 million investment in a Shipbuilding Operating System intended to bring AI and autonomy tools to shipyards and suppliers across the industrial base.
The Virginia-class attack submarine Utah was christened on October 25, 2025 at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, reviving the name of the battleship sunk on December 7, 1941.
The Department of the Navy's fiscal year 2026 request, released in June 2025, sought three battle force ships in its base budget and leaned on a separate reconciliation package for most of its planned hull growth.