CBO offers 355-ship fleet scenarios

Two of four shipbuilding scenarios detailed in a report released March 14 by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would create a 355-ship Navy by 2037, but FY 2018 Navy spending requests only maintains the status quo of the current 282-ship fleet. Starting in FY-18, and continuing for five years, the Navy’s FY-19 requests average $20.8B annually for shipbuilding that won’t pay for maintaining the status quo or pay for increasing the size of the fleet, according to CBO’s numbers crunching. The report offers four scenarios over three decades toward reaching 355 ships, which would require buying 330 new ships for 20 years and spending up to $104B to maintain this fleet through 2047. The president’s budget requests $20B to shipbuilding, and proposes to build 10 ships. “We must get to 13 ships and increase the budget accordingly,” said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), chair of the House Armed Services’ seapower and projection forces subcommittee. CBO’s report suggests a funding level of $26B annually to hit the “sweet spot” of a 355-ship Navy, he added. The report requires the Navy to add between 12 and 13 ships a year, and spending on average $26.7B per year for shipbuilding. Opting for a smaller fleet would reduce the nation’s shipbuilding capacity and require slightly more than five ship-builds a year - less than one per seven shipyards, which may not be enough business to keep all seven shipyards yards open, the report states. (Source: USNI News 03/15/18)