Dec. 10, 2020
Today, the Department of the Navy released the annual 30-year shipbuilding plan. Over the last four years, the Trump administration has steadily increased the number and readiness of battle-force ships. This plan moves to continue that buildup and is resourced to achieve a 355-ship naval fleet.
The 30-year shipbuilding plan is consistent with the National Defense Strategy (NDS) which recognizes China and Russia as near peer threats. To ensure that we maintain superiority over these threats, the NDS requires a modern, ready force to operate in the Pacific maritime region. The Department has realigned more than $45B over the Future Years Defense Program to Navy Shipbuilding and other priorities as described in the Office of Management and Budget’s fiscal framework.
The shipbuilding plan is based on naval operational experience and extensive analytics. The Department of the Navy, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation recently completed a comprehensive Future Naval Force Study – an extensive analytical effort to inform the design of the future of America’s naval force. The team assessed various naval force structure options to maintain our current overmatch and identified the need for a larger, more modern fleet. Another key finding was the need to expand the U.S. industrial base to support new ship construction and modernization.
The plan calls for a larger fleet of both manned and unmanned vessels prepared to face greater challenges on, above, or under the sea by accelerating submarine construction, modernizing aircraft, extending the service life of cruisers, and increasing the number of destroyers. Although we reach 355 ships by the early 2030s, the plan is about more than numbers of ships. It is about equipping our future force for the enduring defense of our nation.
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