By Richard Abott
A top U.S. Navy official said the service is unlikely to reach above 310 ships at current funding levels, let alone the congressionally-mandated goal of 355 ships.
“Will we get to 355 ships? I think with today’s fiscal situation and where the Navy’s topline is right now – we can keep around 305 to 310 ships whole, properly manned, properly maintained, properly equipped, and properly ready,” Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Robert Burke said Friday at the Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) conference.
He said that while a 355-ship Navy is a great target “it’s more important that we have the maximum capability to address every challenge that we might face, given the resources that we do have.”
The 355-ship fleet idea started with an early 2016 Force Structure Assessment (FSA) that the increase was necessary to match growing Chinese and Russian naval forces.
The Navy is finishing a new FSA it is expecting to release next year. Burke said the service is in the “final stages” of the new report.
“Although I can’t tell you the details of what this new force structure assessment is pointing to, I will tell you that we’re doing some things differently here and I’m kind of excited about the approach that we’re using,” Burke continued.
Burke underscored the 310-ship count holds if the Navy’s budget topline funding does not increase above where it is now “and it is projected to remain for the rest of the future years defense plan. That’s about where we can get to and do it right in terms of man those ships, maintain them, and have all the coordinates for them and generate readiness.”
To reach 355 ships, Congress would need to increase the Navy’s topline, but Burke admitted several fiscal challenges coming together at the same time in all the services. He said the department is trying to recapitalize its strategic nuclear deterrent forces in the Columbia-class submarine, is conducting modernization efforts in other places like nuclear command and control, and is hardening systems from cyber attacks.
This story first appeared in Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor affiliate publication Defense Daily.
