Navy to decom 21 ships; buy 54

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy plans to decommission or place out of service 21 ships between FY 2019-23. Despite the losses, the fleet will grow under the service’s 2019 30-Year Shipbuilding Plan - with a goal of a 355 by the 2050s. Over the next five years, the Navy will decommission 11 nuclear-powered submarines and three mine-countermeasures ships, and place out of service four Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oilers (T-AOs) and three Powhatan-class fleet ocean tugs (T-ATFs). The ships will be replaced by Virginia-class SSNs, Freedom- and Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), John L. Lewis-class T-AOs, and new tow, rescue and salvage ships (T-ATS). The Navy’s fleet is on track to increase to 299 ships (from current 286). Ships slated for delivery in FY-19 are four Freedom and Independence-class LCS, two Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), one amphibious assault ship (LHA), one Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (T-EPF), one Lewis B. Puller expeditionary sea base ship (T-ESB), and two subs. From 2019-23, the Navy plans to buy 54 ships, including the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier, the first Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN), 10 Virginia-class SSNs, 14 DDGs, the last LCS, six new guided-missile frigates, three LX(R) next-generation amphibious warfare ships, eight T-AOs, six T-ATFs, two T-ESBs and two next-generation ocean surveillance ships. (Source: Seapower Magazine 02/13/18) Gulf Coast Note: LCS and T-EPFs are built at Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. LHAs are built at HII-Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.; DDGs are built at HII-Pascagoula and Bath (Maine) Ironworks.