U.S. Navy Needs to Grow, but in fact it is Shrinking

According to the official Naval Vessel Register, the United States Navy “ship battle forces” today consists of 296 ships, with 238 in active commission. The Navy’s 2016 force structure plan established a goal of 355 ships, an objective that was made law in 2018. A reported reexamination of that goal in the context of the current world geopolitical environment called for 381 ships.

Regardless of the current applicable force structure goal, one can conclude that the Navy desperately needs more ships. However, a May 30, 2024, Congressional Research Service (CRS) report states that, “The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $32.4 billion in shipbuilding funding for, among other things, the procurement of six new ships—a figure that is one less than the seven ships that the Navy’s FY2024 budget submission had projected for FY2025, and less than the long-term average of 10 or 11 new manned ships per year that would be need to be achieved over a period of about 35 years to achieve and maintain a fleet of about 355 or 381 manned ships. The Navy projects that 10 new ships will be delivered to the fleet in FY2025. The Navy’s FY2025 budget proposes retiring 19 existing ships in FY2025, including 10 ships that would be retired before reaching the ends of their expected service lives. As a result, the Navy projects that, under the Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget, the total number of ships in the Navy would decline by a net 9 ships during FY2025, from 296 ships at the start of FY2025 to 287 ships at the end of FY2025.”

The report states that budget calls for “the procurement of six new ships, including one Virginia-class attack submarine, two Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyers, one Constellation (FFG-62) class frigate, one LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ship, and one Medium Landing Ship (LSM).”

CRS reported that is proposal to retire 19 ships in FY2025, including 10 ships that would be retired prior to reaching the ends of their service lives. The Navy states that “decommissioning these ships frees up additional resources to construct more capable and lethal platforms relative to current threats.”

In other words, instead of growing, the fleet is getting smaller.

Here is a summary of some of the Navy’s key shipbuilding programs.

Aircraft Carriers

Commissioned in 2017, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has completed its first real overseas deployment. Sister ship John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is under construction at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, and incremental funding for Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81) have been requested. CVN 79 is due to be commissioned next year.

A fifth Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-82, as yet unnamed, was to have been ordered in 2028, but is now expected to be contracted for in 2030.

Nimitz-class CVN USS George Washington (CVN 73) completed its refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) last year. USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is more than half way through its RCOH at NNS, and expected to return to service in 2025, and will be followed by USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).

Submarines

The Ohio—class of guided missile and ballistic missile submarines are getting old. The first ship in the class, USS Ohio, was commissioned in 1981, and the first four of the 18 Ohios that were converted to SSGNs will not be replaced. The 14 remaining SSBNs will be replaced by the 12 boats of the Columbia class. The Columbia-class is considered the service’s highest shipbuilding priority.

The lead ship — District of Columbia (SSBN 826) -- is under construction at General Dynamics Electric Boat Shipyard in Connecticut. The Navy has requested funding of the second Columbia-class submarine and procurement of long lead-time items for the ten remaining ships. The Columbias will be built under a joint arrangement between by EB and NNSB.

A similar arrangement is being used to build the Virginia-class of attack submarines (SSNs), with both EB and NNSB sharing in the construction and assembly. 66 Virginia’s are planned, with 22 currently active. Virginia-class SSNs are characterized by blocks. Starting with Block V, the boats will increase from 7,900 a length of 377 feet to 10,200 tons and 460 feet to accommodate the Virginia Payload Module, which provides for additional missile tubes for Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles and the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile.

While the Navy needs more submarines, and would like to procure two Virginias per year, there are issues with the available skilled workforce to build those boats. Officials have noted that the Virginia-class boats that are delivering this year are averaging over 30 months late.

The problem that may be compounded by the additional work that will be undertaken in support of the AUKUS submarine program to build new nuclear submarines for Australia.

But the Navy is addressing the workforce shortage problem. The Navy’s budget press release states that, “This budget reflects a large investment in the health and supply chain of the industrial base, including the investment of $3.9 billion in FY25, and $11.1 billion across the FYDP for the Submarine Industrial Base, $227million into the weapons industrial base and $407 million in fleet readiness centers infrastructure modernization and optimization.”

Surface Ships

The first of the three Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) guided missile destroyers has commenced the removal of the Advanced Gun System, which is being replaced with the CPS hypersonic missiles. The work is being accomplished at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding.

The littoral combat ship (LCS) program is drawing to a close. 16 Freedom class ships will be built for the U.S. Navy, with three yet to be delivered.

Austal USA of Alabama has delivered 17 of 19 Independence variants. The future USS Pierre (LCS 38) will be the last Independence variant to be commissioned next year.

Because the focus has shifted away from asymmetric threats in the littoral to blue water operations, the LCS program has been cut back, and a new frigate will enter the fleet.

The keel for first of the Constellation-class of guided missile frigates (FFGs) was laid down in April of this year at Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM). The 7,400-ton, 496-foot Constellation is based on the French/Italian FREMM frigates (Fregata Europea Multi-Missione) currently in service or on order for France, Italy, Egypt, Morocco, and Indonesia. The first of the ten FFG 62s to be built at FMM A second yard may be selected to build additional ships of the class.

In May 23, 2024, the Navy ordered two frigates from FMM, bringing the total of the Constellation-class FFGs under contract to (FFGs 66 and 62) to six. The initial contract for the class was awarded in April 2020, but an October 2020 Congressional Budget Office report estimated the cost of each ship would be “40 percent more than the Navy’s estimate.”

The Navy has selected names for the first five ships in the class: Constellation (FFG 62); Congress (FFG 63); Chesapeake (FFG 64); Lafayette (FFG 65); and USS Hamilton (FFG 65). The first ten ships pof the class will be homeported at Everett, Washington.

The production of Arleigh Burke-class DDGs continues at NNSB and General Dynamis Bath Iron Works (BIW). The first of the DDG 51 Flight IIIs, USS Jack Lucas (DDG 125) was commissioned at Tampa, Fla., in October of 2023. 14 Flight IIIs have been ordered, and additional ships may bring the total number Arleigh Burkes to 177 ships.

The Navy is preparing to select the design of the DDGX, the follow-on to the Arleigh Burkes.

Experimentation continues with the large and medium sized unmanned surface vessels, as well as extra-large unmanned underwater vessels (XLUUVs). A few LUSVs—based on offshore support vessels--are currently in service, and two MUSVs—which are built-for-purpose trimarans. LUSVs are about as being 200 feet to 300 feet long and will displace between 1,000 and 2,000 tons. The vision for the LUSV is to be an additional source of weapons that can be launched remotely. The MUSV will be under 200 feet and displace about 500 tons, and is planned to deploy sensors like underwater arrays. Experimentation continues with the large and medium sized unmanned surface vessels, as well as extra-large unmanned underwater vessels (XLUUVs). A few LUSVs—based on offshore support vessels--are currently in service, and two MUSVs—which are built-for-purpose trimarans. LUSVs are about as being 200 feet to 300 feet long and will displace between 1,000 and 2,000 tons. The vision for the LUSV is to be an additional source of weapons that can be launched remotely. The MUSV will be under 200 feet and displace about 500 tons, and is planned to deploy sensors like underwater arrays. The XLUUV Has been described as about the size of a subway car, and will be used to deploy clandestine mines like Hammerhead.The XLUUV Has been described as about the size of a subway car, and will be used to deploy clandestine mines like Hammerhead.

Amphibious Ships

All of the navy’s amphibious warships are currently built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. An April 2024 CRS report on amphibious ships stated that, “The Navy’s force of amphibious ships at the end of FY2023 included 31 larger ships, including 9 LHA/LHD-type “big-deck” amphibious assault ships, 12 LPD-17 Flight I class ships, and 10 older LSD-41/49 class ships.”

The LHA/LHD assault ships are the largest warships after aircraft carriers. Eight Wasp-class LHA’s were built and commissioned between 1989 and 2009, although USS Bonhomme Richard (LHA 6) was destroyed in a pierside fire in 2020. The America-class LHAs are designed to operate the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), and will be able to operate the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. Two of the Americas have been commissioned—LHA 6 and 7—which were built without well decks to provide more space for aviation support. The next ship in the class, Bougainville, which was christened in December of last year, and subsequent Americas will have a well deck for landing craft operations. Two other LHAs are under construction or on order. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced in May that the future America-class amphibious assault ship will be named USS Helmand Province (LHA 10).

A new variant of the LPD 17 San Antonio-class of landing platform docks (LPDs) LPD 17, the Flight II ships will be somewhat less capable than the Flight Is, and are intended as replacements for the Whidbey Island and Harpers Ferry classes of landing ship docks (LSDs).

Twelve of 13 Flight I LPDs are in service. Richard McCool (LPD 29) was delivered to the Navy in April, and is the transitional ship between the Flight Is and Flight IIs. Three Flight IIs are on order and a fourth has been authorized. The Navy ultimately plans to procure 13 LPD Flight IIs.

A new class of amphibious ship, the light amphibious warship, now called the Landing Ship Medium (LSM), will join the fleet to support the Marine Littoral Regiments. The first has been included in the FY 2025 budget request.

Auxiliary Ships

• T-AOs
  

  The newest replenishment oilers, the USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) class, are being built at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego for the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The first two ships were delivered in 2022 and 2023 respectively. A total of 20 of them will be built to eventually place the Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) class of replenishment oilers, which first entered service in 1986.

• T-ATS
  

  The USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6) is the first of a new class of towing, salvage and rescue ships for MSC. Ten will being built at Austal USA and Bollinger in Louisiana.

  The budget is also planning for the purchase of two sealift ships merchant ships on the commercial market for conversion to sealift ships. MSC’s sealift ships are old, and the sealift ships maintained by the Maritime Administration in the Ready Reserve Fleet are older. While two “new” members of the sealift fleet is welcomed, it is only two, and they will be old when the Navy buys them.

Building for the Future

As previously alluded to in the submarine section of this article, the industrial base and workforce are stretched thin, not to mention the paucity of yards that could take on Navy ship work in the event of a surge.

The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., is bringing researchers, students and industry together to solve real warfighting problems. The Navy is investing in STEM programs to get young people interested early in the disciplines that require a solid science and math foundation.

The Navy’s Tech Bridges, which come under NavalX, are working to match non-traditional suppliers with urgent warfighting requirements. There 18 Tech Bridges that align with fleet concentration areas and the Navy’s warfare centers. They are scanning small business and academia for new technologies and research, and matching them with difficult warfighting problems.

The “Build Submarines” program is focused on spreading the message to “discover, connect, and employ the most exceptional and promising talent” to meet the growing number of critical job vacancies for the nuclear shipyards and the suppliers for the Navy’s nuclear strategic and attack submarines, a demand that is being compounded by additional work for the AUKUS program.

The Blue Forge Alliance is seeking out new sources of technology and innovation with suppliers who have previously not worked with the military. Regional organizations such as the Southern New England Defense Industry Alliance (SENEDIA) are “connecting, partnering with, and convening leaders across industry and government.” Investments in tech-hubs are leading the way for research, education and training. A good example is the Joint Navy-OSD Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing Program, to include the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) within the State of Virginia’s Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA) on the Danville Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus.