New frigates, and phantom carriers

WASHINGTON - Frustrated with Defense Department-run war games that has contributed to SECDEF Mark Esper taking over the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said he believes planners should not have added a 12th aircraft carrier to the mix, a ship it won’t have until the 2060s. “(I)f we’re not ever really going to get to 12, why are we war-gaming around 12,” Modly told two reporters on March 10. “Why are we not war-gaming around what we most likely will have, and then figure out how we manage risk in those areas?” The Navy currently has only 11 carriers. Esper took control of the plan in February, and promised his version of it by July. Esper received widespread bipartisan criticism from lawmakers over the delay while they have to build an FY 2021 annual budget markup. One thing all parties have agree on is the need for a new class of frigates. Modly said support for the frigate program has been “consistent.” He charged Navy acquisition chief James Geurts with moving up the date of an award for the program to possibly as early as late spring. The competition to build 20 ships at a rate of two per year between 2021-29 may also see changes. Modly said he would also like to see yearly production of those ships to double. It’s not clear that shipyards bidding for the frigate work could meet such expectations. The frigate plan will likely be released before Esper wraps up his review of the Navy’s force structure, and before a new deep dive into future aircraft carriers is completed in the September. The Navy may have a new SECNAV by that timeline. The Trump administration has nominated Kenneth Braithwaite. Modly recognized as much when he briefed Esper on the plans. “I said ‘hey look, this is a starting point for us, this is not the end point’,” indicating he’s willing to make changes as ship totals and the force mix remains in flux. (Source: Breaking Defense 03/11/20) Gulf Coast Note: Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and HII-Pascagoula, Miss., will likely be among companies bidding of the new FFG-X frigates.  https://breakingdefense.com/2020/03/secnav-details-gapsbetween-navy-pentagon-shipbuilding-plans/