Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress September 29, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL32665 Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress Summary In December 2016, the Navy released a force-structure goal that calls for achieving and maintaining a fleet of 355 ships of certain types and numbers. The Trump Administration has identified the achievement of a Navy of 355 or more ships within 10 years as a high priority. The 355-ship goal was made U.S. policy by Section 1025 of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2810/P.L. 115-91 of December 12, 2017). The Navy’s 355-ship force-level goal is the result of a Force Structure Assessment (FSA) conducted by the Navy in 2016. The Navy and DOD since 2019 have been working to develop a new force-level goal to replace the current 355-ship force-level goal. The conclusion of this work and the release of its results to Congress have been delayed repeatedly since late 2019. Remarks from Navy and DOD officials since 2019 indicate that the Navy’s next force-level goal will introduce at least some elements of a once-in-a-generation change in fleet architecture. This new fleet architecture is expected to feature a smaller proportion of larger ships (such as large-deck aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, large amphibious ships, and large resupply ships); a larger proportion of smaller ships (such as frigates, corvettes, smaller amphibious ships, smaller resupply ships, and perhaps smaller aircraft carriers); and a new third tier of surface vessels about as large as corvettes or large patrol craft that will be either lightly manned, optionally manned, or unmanned, as well as large unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The Navy states that its proposed FY2021 budget requests the procurement of eight new ships, but this figure includes LPD-31, an LPD-17 Flight II amphibious ship that Congress procured (i.e., authorized and appropriated procurement funding for) in FY2020. Excluding this ship, the Navy’s proposed FY2021 budget requests the procurement of seven new ships rather than eight. A figure of 7 new ships is less than the 11 that the Navy requested for FY2020 (a figure that excludes CVN-81, an aircraft carrier that Congress authorized in FY2019) or the 13 that Congress procured in FY2020 (a figure that again excludes CVN-81, but includes the above-mentioned LPD-31 as well as an LHA amphibious assault ship that Congress also procured in FY2020). The figure of 7 new ships is also less than the 10 ships that the Navy projected under its FY2020 budget submission that it would request for FY2021, and less than the average ship procurement rate that would be needed over the long run, given current ship service lives, to achieve and maintain a 355-ship fleet. In dollar terms, the Navy is requesting a total of about $19.9 billion for its shipbuilding account for FY2021. This is about $3.9 billion (16.3%) less than the Navy requested for the account for FY2020, about $4.1 billion (17.0%) less than Congress provided for the account for FY2020, and about $3.6 billion (15.3%) less than the $23.5 billion that the Navy projected under its FY2020 budget submission that it would request for the account for FY2021. The Navy states that its FY2021 five-year (FY2021-FY2025) shipbuilding plan includes 44 new ships, but this figure includes the above-mentioned LPD-31 and LHA amphibious ships that Congress procured in FY2020. Excluding these two ships, the Navy’s FY2021 five-year shipbuilding plan includes 42 new ships, which is 13 less than the 55 that were included in the FY2020 (FY2020-FY2024) five-year plan and 12 less than the 54 that were projected for the period FY2021-FY2025 under the Navy’s FY2020 30-year shipbuilding plan. Congressional Research Service Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Navy’s Force-Level Goal .......................................................................................................... 2 Navy’s Existing (355-Ship) Force-Level Goal ................................................................... 2 Navy’s Next Force-Level Goal ........................................................................................... 4 Navy’s FY2021, Five-Year, and 30-Year Shipbuilding Plans ................................................. 10 Treatment of Procurement Dates of CVN-81, LPD-31, and LHA-9 ................................ 10 FY2021 Shipbuilding Request ........................................................................................... 11 FY2021 Five-Year (FY2021-FY2025) Shipbuilding Plan ................................................. 11 FY2020 30-Year (FY2020-FY2049) Shipbuilding Plan ................................................... 12 Projected Force Levels Under FY2020 30-Year Shipbuilding Plan ................................. 12 Issues for Congress ........................................................................................................................ 15 Potential Impacts of a CR on FY2021 Navy Shipbuilding Programs ..................................... 15 First Columbia-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine ........................................................... 15 Amphibious Ship LPD-31................................................................................................. 16 September 2020 Press Report ........................................................................................... 17 Potential Impacts If CR Period Becomes Extended .......................................................... 18 COVID-19 Impact on Shipbuilding Programs ........................................................................ 19 Potential Impact ................................................................................................................ 19 DOD Point Paper on Impacts from March 15 Through June 15, 2020 ............................. 20 Past Examples of Assistance to Shipyards and Supplier Firms ........................................ 22 Potential Oversight Questions ........................................................................................... 23 Additional Background Information ................................................................................. 24 COVID-19 Impact on Future U.S. Defense Strategy and Budgets ......................................... 24 FY2021 Budget’s Treatment of CVN-81, LPD-31, and LHA-9 Procurement Dates ............. 24 Reprogramming of FY2020 Funding for LHA-9 and EPF Ship ............................................. 25 Delay in Submission of FY2021 30-year Shipbuilding Plan .................................................. 26 Adequacy of Proposed FY2021 Shipbuilding Budget and Five-Year Shipbuilding Plan ...................................................................................................................................... 27 How Next Navy Force-Level Goal Will Change Fleet Architecture, 355-Ship Goal, Mix of Ships to Be Procured, and Distribution of Shipbuilding Work ................................ 28 Affordability of 30-Year Shipbuilding Plan ............................................................................ 28 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 28 Concern Regarding Potential Impact of Columbia-Class Program .................................. 31 Potential for Cost Growth on Navy Ships ......................................................................... 31 CBO Estimate ................................................................................................................... 32 Sustainment Cost .............................................................................................................. 34 Legislative Activity for FY2021 .................................................................................................... 36 CRS Reports Tracking Legislation on Specific Navy Shipbuilding Programs ....................... 36 Summary of Congressional Action on FY2021 Funding Request .......................................... 36 FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395/S. 4049) ........................................ 39 House ................................................................................................................................ 39 Senate ................................................................................................................................ 45 Senate (Floor Consideration) ............................................................................................ 54 FY2021 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 7617) ...................................................................... 55 House ................................................................................................................................ 55 Congressional Research Service Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress SHIPS Implementation Act (S. 3258) ..................................................................................... 56 Figures Figure 1. Navy Estimate of Funding Requirements