CBO: Shipbuilding plan falls short

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy will have to fund its shipbuilding account by $16.5 billion annually to accomplish its 30-year shipbuilding plan for 2016 – about 30 percent more than Congress has appropriated in recent years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In an October report - “An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2016 Shipbuilding Plan” - CBO said the 2016 plan falls short of some goals. The Navy’s goal for the fleet is 308 ships. There are presently 273 ships. The report says the Navy’s 2016 plan would buy a total of 264 ships through 2045: 218 combatants and 46 combat logistics and support ships. The Navy estimates that buying those new ships under the 2016 plan would cost $494 billion (in 2015 dollars) over 30 years – about $16.5B a year. CBO estimated the cost to be $552 billion over 30 years, or an average of $18.4 billion. The estimates are at odds because the Navy and CBO use different estimating methods. (Source: Sea Power 10/30/15)