Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
Abstract
The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years. The Navy in February 2006 presented to Congress a goal of achieving and maintaining a fleet of 313 ships, consisting of certain types and quantities of ships. Since then, the Navy has changed its desired quantities for some of those ship types, and the Navy?s goals now add up to a desired fleet of 320 or 321 ships. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of 10 new battle force ships (i.e., ships that count against the 320-321 ship goal). The 10 ships include two Virginia class attack submarines, one DDG-51 class Aegis destroyer, four Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs), one LPD-17 class amphibious ship, one Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship (i.e., a maritime prepositioning ship), and one Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Navy's five-year (FY2012-FY2016) shipbuilding plan, submitted to Congress in conjunction with the Navy's proposed FY2012 budget, includes a total of 55 new battle force ships, or an average of 11 per year. Of the 55 ships in the plan, 27, or almost half, are relatively inexpensive LCSs or JHSVs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 13, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA543256
Entities
People
- Ronald O'Rourke
Organizations
- Library of Congress