Megan Eckstein
Naval warfare reporter
Megan Eckstein is the naval warfare reporter at Defense News. She has covered military news since 2009, with a focus on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations, acquisition programs and budgets. She has reported from four geographic fleets and is happiest when she’s filing stories from a ship. Megan is a University of Maryland alumna.
All Stories By Megan
Seeking to make F-35s ready for war, maintainers think outside the box
As the F-35C fleet expands at Naval Air Station Lemoore, the service and a government oversight group worry the jets aren’t available for missions enough.
US Navy official says service is going ‘head to head with our adversaries’ all over the world
Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener shared how the guided missile destroyer Mustin shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning in the South China Sea in April 2021.
Surface warfare boss unveils strategy to create ‘more ready ships,’ better trained sailors
Here are the five lines of effort that could see the U.S. Navy's surface fleet become larger and more capable.
Freedom LCS community to tackle mine warfare, grow its footprint in 2022
LCSs in Mayport have been limited to surface warfare operations in 4th Fleet since they kicked off deployment activity two years ago. In 2022, the community is looking to expand beyond that.
US Navy completes final weapons elevator on aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford
The 11th and final advanced weapons elevator has been turned over to the crew, after the Navy has struggled to get them designed, built and tested for several years now.
Aircraft carrier Bush conducts first at-sea MQ-25 unmanned tanker demo
The MQ-25A Stingray tanking drone conducted shipboard maneuvers for the first time on a carrier, giving sailors a first peek at the vehicle as well as its handheld controller and shipboard ground control station.
US Navy Triton UAV returns from Guam, ahead of transition to more capable variant
One UAV will remain in the Pacific, as the second returns to Florida to support intensive training ahead of the squadron moving into a multi-intelligence variant in 2022 and preparing for initial operational capability in 2023.
Littoral combat ships in Mayport make the most of a year of restricted operations
The LCSs operating out of Mayport faced some restrictions while the Navy engineered a solution to their combining gear flaws, but the LCS Squadron commander says they've made the most of that time and established their role in the fleet.
Lockheed unveils pared-down F-35 trainer with same software capability but a 90% reduced footprint
Lockheed Martin spent its own money developing this LITE trainer over the last 18 months after hearing signals from F-35 customers that they needed more training capacity for less cost.
US Navy wants to create more lethal pilots for less money with simulators
The Navy wants to create better pilots for less cost, relying on simulators for more basic-level training and preserving the expensive live-flight hours for high-end tactics.
