SECDEF: Rethink shipbuilding plan

Secretary of Defense (Dr.) Mark Esper put a stop to the release of the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, telling the sea service Feb. 25 to hold off and take another look at it, multiple sources confirmed to Breaking Defense. The plan was announced in 2019, and was to be completed by Jan. 15, but has run into major headwinds. The Navy insists it can grow the fleet to 355 ships as early as 2030, even with anticipated FY 2021 cuts to the shipbuilding budget. Some officials have conceded there’s little hope of significant growth in the short-term. SECDEF has been reviewing the plan for weeks, and is not willing to sign off on it. “The secretary is currently looking at that plan,” a senior defense official confirmed. Esper took over DoD last July. This is his first time to go out and influence a budget, and “he’s taking time to review things,” that official also said. Esper apparently told the Navy the plan’s not ready for release, and is unclear when it may be ready. A Marine Corps plan to reform its own force mixture was expected to be released this month, but also appears on hold. The 30-year plan is to start with FY-22 budget submission requests. The Navy request has fired up both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and was labeled “dead on arrival” by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), chairperson of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces sub-committee. The proposal calls for a $4B cut from last year’s shipbuilding budget, and asks Congress for $3B less overall from FY-20, part of an overall reduction of 11 ships the Navy had planned to buy by 2025. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday are to appear before the House Armed Service Committee on the morning of Feb. 27 in an anticipated heated meeting with lawmakers frustrated with the service’s inability to come up with a future plan. Modly kicked off a “Stem to Stern” review of the whole force in February to find $40B in savings over five years, by eliminating commands, slashing logistics costs, and cutting or outsourcing back-end functions. (Source: Breaking Defense 02/25/20) https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/esper-to-navy-rethink-your-shipbuilding-plan/