Surface Combatants: Navy Faces Challenges Sustaining its Current Program

Abstract

Surface combatants - cruisers, destroyers, and frigates - represent over one-third of the Navy's war-fighting fleet and a significant portion of the Navy's annual funding for new ships. This report discusses the Navy's basis for its current and planned surface combatant force, its plans to sustain the current force size into the next century, and the key factors that could affect future force requirements. We conducted this review under our basic legislative responsibilities and are addressing this report to you because we believe it will be useful to your committees in their deliberations on future naval force size and composition, particularly on decisions for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, 21st Century Surface Combatant, and the Arsenal Ship. This report contains a recommendation that the Secretary of Defense provide Congress with specific information on the basis for the surface combatant force and on the Navy's plan for sustaining the force.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 21, 1997
Accession Number
AD1167370

Entities

People

  • Bob N. Kenyon
  • Carol R. Schuster
  • Karen S. Blum
  • Mark J. Wielgoszynski
  • Richard A. Davis
  • Richard J. Herley

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Boats
  • Congress
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Guided Missile Ships
  • Marine Transportation
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Nimitz-Class
  • Nuclear Powered Ships
  • Uss Nimitz
  • Uss Ramage
  • Warfare
  • Weapon Control

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting