Pacific Deterrence Initiative

SASC’s FY 22 Defense Bill Boosts DoD Topline by $25B; Adds 2nd Destroyer, More Navy F-35Cs

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

THE PENTAGON – The Senate Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year 2022 authorization bill adds an additional destroyer, a Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport and five more F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters for the Navy, according to a summary of the markup issued on Thursday by the SASC.

The additions are part of a $740.3 billion authorization bill that’s $25 billion more than the Pentagon’s initial budget request from late May.

The bill...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/22/sascs-fy-22-defense-bill-boosts-dod-topline-by-25b-adds-2nd-destroyer-more-navy-f-35cs

House Bill Cuts Money for Navy Nuke Cruise Missile, Saves 3 LCS from Decommissioning  

Three littoral combat ships in various stages of construction at Marinette, Wisconsin during July 2015. The Navy is seeking to decommission USS Detroit (LCS-7), at right, and USS Little Rock (LCS-9), in the background. The ships were commissioned only in 2016 and 2017, respectively. USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), commissioned in 2015, is to remain in service. Christopher P. Cavas Photo used with permission

House appropriators are cutting development money for the Navy’s ship-launched nuclear cruise...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/29/house-bill-cuts-money-for-navy-nuke-cruise-missile-saves-3-lcs-from-decommissioning

Milley: China Wants Capability to Take Taiwan by 2027, Sees No Near-term Intent to Invade

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding the fiscal year 2022 budget for the Defense Department, June 17, 2021. DoD Photo

China wants the ability to invade and hold Taiwan within the next six years but might not intend to do so in the near term, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Congress today.
Milley said congressional testimony earlier this...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/23/milley-china-wants-capability-to-take-taiwan-by-2027-sees-no-near-term-intent-to-invade

CNO Gilday: Flat or Declining Navy Budgets ‘Will Definitely Shrink’ the Fleet

USS Russell (DDG-59), bottom, approaches the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon (T-AO-202), center, and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) for a replenishment-at-sea on Feb. 10, 2021. US Navy Photo

The number of ships in the fleet, now at 296 ships, will decrease if the Navy continues to have flat or declining budgets, the service’s top officer told Congress today.
Despite numerous evaluations showing the Navy needs more ships, Chief of Naval...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/15/cno-gilday-flat-or-declining-navy-budgets-will-definitely-shrink-the-fleet

Analyst Says Pentagon ‘Walked Away From the 500-ship Navy’

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Jan. 19, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s modest shipbuilding request as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget shows the Pentagon has “walked away from the 500-ship Navy,” a senior defense analyst said Tuesday.

The Fiscal Year 2022 shipbuilding request is seeking $22.6 billion, a 3 percent drop from Fiscal Year’s 2021 shipbuilding total. The move from the Pentagon shows...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/analyst-says-pentagon-walked-away-from-the-500-ship-navy

Fleet Growth Stymied by Fiscal Year 2022 Navy Budget Request

Submarine construction continues apace in the latest US Navy budget request, which asks for two more Virginia-class submarines and another installment for the missile sub Columbia. Here, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Montana (SSN-794) is seen just after launch in March 2021 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. HII Photo

The long-delayed Navy Fiscal Year 2022 budget request submitted to Congress May 28 reflects modest increases in several areas, but overall shows no...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/28/fleet-growth-stymied-by-fiscal-year-2022-navy-budget-request

Biden Administration Seeks $715B Pentagon Budget; Calls for Investment in SSN(X), Shedding Legacy Platforms

The Biden administration is requesting a $715 billion budget for the Pentagon, keeping defense spending largely flat when adjusting for inflation, the White House announced today.

In a summary of the forthcoming Fiscal Year 2022 budget submission, the administration lays out its priorities for the Pentagon, which include shedding legacy platforms and pursuing the Navy’s new SSN(X) program.

“Maintaining U.S. naval power is critical to reassuring allies and signaling U.S. resolve to potential...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/09/biden-administration-seeks-715b-pentagon-budget-calls-for-investment-in-ssnx-shedding-legacy-platforms

Davidson: Aegis Ashore on Guam Would ‘Free Up’ 3 Navy Destroyers

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03). MDA photo

Building an Aegis Ashore facility on Guam would relieve three guided-missile destroyers from missile defense work and make them available for Navy tasking, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Thursday.

Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/04/davidson-aegis-ashore-on-guam-would-free-up-3-navy-destroyers

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