SASC Defense Bill Requires Navy to Present Fleet Plan Directly to Congress

Guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG-67) conducts carrier strike group integrated operations USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on June 10, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Senate Armed Services Committee has crafted legislation to give the Navy more ownership over its fleet architecture studies, according to the text of the annual defense policy bill released this week.

Language in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act would require the chief of naval operations to present a force structure...

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/23/sasc-defense-bill-requires-navy-to-present-fleet-plan-directly-to-congress

Pentagon, Navy Conducting Parallel Fleet Studies Ahead of Next National Defense Strategy

Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) launching at Ingalls Shipbuilding on June 5, 2021. HII Photo

The Navy and the Pentagon are crunching numbers on two separate sets of studies that will map out the size of the service’s future fleet as defense budgets are set to stay static for the foreseeable future, officials familiar with the studies told USNI News.

The Navy is performing its own assessment of the fleet architecture needed to counter future threats past the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/21/pentagon-navy-conducting-parallel-fleet-studies-ahead-of-next-national-defense-strategy

Pentagon Reissues FY 22 Shipbuilding Totals to Congress In Lieu of 30-Year Plan   

USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118) at Bath Iron Works

The Pentagon submitted an abbreviated long-range shipbuilding report to Congress that does not show construction past the Fiscal Year 2022 budget request, according to the document reviewed by USNI News on Thursday.

Instead, the Navy issued a summary of the eight-ship FY 2022 shipbuilding request, with a promise for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the service to further refine the needs of the Navy for a complete outlook as part of the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/17/pentagon-reissues-fy-22-shipbuilding-totals-to-congress-in-lieu-of-30-year-plan

Pentagon Conducting ‘Relook’ of FY-22 Budget; Directive Targets Shipbuilding

In this aerial photograph, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) sits at Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding division. The ship is approximately 76 percent complete and is progressing through final outfitting and testing. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.

The Pentagon is performing a “budget relook” of the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 proposal, with Navy shipbuilding topping the list of items for reassessment, USNI News has learned.

The directive, issued on Feb. 17, calls...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/24/pentagon-conducting-relook-of-fy-22-budget-directive-targets-shipbuilding

White House-led Navy Shipbuilding Plan Set to Will Push Boundaries of Pentagon Budgets, Industry Capacity

Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) on Oct. 21, 2020. US Navy Photo

According to the report, “maintaining our undersea advantage is a priority for the Navy. We are in the process of assuring the industrial base capability to continue delivering three SSNs per year past FY26 during Columbia serial production. The post-FYDP SSN profile will continue to be reviewed and updated in subsequent plans as the industrial base assessments are refined with the goal of...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/white-house-led-navy-shipbuilding-plan-set-to-will-push-boundaries-of-pentagon-budgets-industry-capacity

CNO Gilday Ready to Act on Parts of Future Fleet Plan — As Long As It Doesn’t Hurt Readiness

Adm. Mike Gilday addresses the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2024 in Alumni Hall on Aug. 7, 2020. US Navy Photo

The chief of naval operations remains mindful of deployment lengths, crew sizes, maintenance capacity and other measures of a healthy fleet even amid calls to grow the Navy to 500 ships or more, during what could be an important time in determining the future of the Navy.

Adm. Mike Gilday said he’s not just preoccupied with what the future larger fleet will look like – though he has a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/11/cno-gilday-ready-to-act-on-parts-of-future-fleet-plan-as-long-as-it-doesnt-hurt-readiness

After 9 Months of Study, Pentagon’s Fleet Architecture Similar to Original Navy Plan

Defense Secretary Mark Esper tours the avenger class minesweeper USS Devastator, docked at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Oct. 28, 2020. DoD Photo

At the beginning of the year, the Navy and Marine Corps sent a new fleet plan to Pentagon leaders that called for relying on smaller ships and unmanned vessels to meet future missions and defeat future adversaries. The Pentagon rejected the plan.

Nine-months later, Pentagon leaders reached the same conclusion: the Navy needed to be more distributed...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/04/after-9-months-of-study-pentagons-fleet-architecture-similar-to-original-navy-plan

Esper Opens Door to Boosting Navy’s Shipbuilding Budget to Fund New Force Structure

Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks in the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington, D.C. on Sept. 14, 2020. DoD Photo

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Defense Secretary Mark Esper is open to increasing Navy budgets to support a new shipbuilding plan and future force design, he said today in a speech at RAND Corporation’s Los Angeles office.

In a speech meant to outline how the Pentagon was continuing to implement the National Defense Strategy to restructure its capabilities and readiness to deter a war against...

CAPE Nominee: SECDEF Esper Blocked Shipbuilding Plan to Congress Because it Lacked ‘Credible Pathway’ to 355-Ship Fleet

USS Stout (DDG-55) travels alongside the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz on May 31, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

The Pentagon still has not submitted a legally mandated shipbuilding blueprint to lawmakers this year because Defense Secretary Mark Esper felt the Navy had not developed a “credible pathway” to achieving a 355-ship fleet, the nominee to lead a top Pentagon office said today.

During his confirmation hearing today to serve as the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/08/04/cape-nominee-secdef-esper-blocked-shipbuilding-plan-to-congress-because-it-lacked-credible-pathway-to-355-ship-fleet

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