Navy's shipbuilding strategy projected to cost $1 trillion over three decades. Defense News.

 

Navy's shipbuilding strategy projected to cost $1 trillion over three decades.

The Navy's plan to expand its future fleet would require $1 trillion, according to Congressional Budget Office analysis. Here, ships under construction dock at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in July 2024 Marinette, Wisconsin.

The U.S. Navy would need to spend $40.1 billion annually on shipbuilding through 2054 — totaling over $1 trillion — to achieve its plan to expand the fleet of battle force ships, according to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis.

The Navy aims to grow its fleet to 381 battle force ships over the next 30 years to address escalating global threats. Currently, the fleet comprises 295 ships, but that number is projected to drop to 283 by 2027 as the Navy retires 13 more ships than it plans to commission.

“The pace of shipbuilding would be fastest in the early 2030s, reflecting the service’s desire to increase the size of the fleet as quickly as feasible,” the CBO noted in its report.

The proposed expansion would require Congress to boost Navy funding by 46% above the average annual levels allocated over the past five years. By 2054, the Navy's annual budget would need to reach $340 billion — a third more than its current $255 billion budget. Of this increase, $40 billion would be allocated to shipbuilding, while $45 billion would cover the operation, maintenance, and arming of the expanded fleet.

The CBO’s cost estimates exceeded the Navy’s projections by 8% to 16%, citing historical challenges in shipbuilding, including delays, design complexities, and underestimated costs. The report also highlighted that recent funding levels for ship construction have been at historic highs, driven partly by congressional concerns over the fleet's ability to meet its missions.

Since 2015, lawmakers have appropriated $2.5 billion more annually for shipbuilding than requested by the president, reflecting bipartisan worries about the Navy's size. The current plan, however, represents a significant leap in cost and ambition, reminiscent of the 1980s "600-ship Navy" initiative pursued under President Ronald Reagan.

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