The Obama administration’s focus on expanding the military presence in the Asia-Pacific likely spared the Navy from taking any major hits to its shipbuilding programs, but plans to delay construction on some vessels beyond the next five years could raise questions as to how the service can execute that strategy and lead to resistance from Congress.
In outlining its spending priorities ahead of the Feb. 13 rollout of the Defense Department budget proposal, the Pentagon eliminated 16 ships beginning in fiscal 2013 and the subsequent four years. Half of that that number was met by slashing eight Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs) from the program. The Navy had already indicated it would scale back the JHSV class.
But more attention might be directed at postponing construction contracts on two Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) and the slippage of one Virginia-class (SSN-774) attack submarine. One congressional staffer said there was little surprising about the plan but added it could still face problems on Capitol Hill.
“It shows that the Navy is not immune to reductions even though it is being favored relative to the ground forces,” the staffer said, while noting that “any reductions or deferrals” in ship building will open it up to criticism. Some of that criticism has already begun.
The Navy anticipates playing the key role in the shift toward the Asia-Pacific region, and intends to station LCSs in Singapore. But with about 285 ships, it remains below its target fleet of 313.
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) subpanel for seapower, questioned how the Obama administration could emphasize building up a presence in the Asia-Pacific and at the same time push back shipbuilding.
“It is stunning that the president would announce a strategy and then cut the Navy who will be called on to execute this strategy,” Akin said.
Winslow Wheeler, a defense analyst at the Center for Defense Information and former congressional aide, said he expects Congress to object to reducing the number of LCSs built over the next five years from 20 to 18.
“I thought the LCS was their favorite son, so there is going to a lot of pushback there,” he said.
The Pentagon defends the plan, saying it will keep the Navy at its current fleet level and as the most dominant maritime force in the world.
“There are some platforms in the fleet that are going to be curtailed in the near term, in terms of the buys,” said Capt. John Kirby, the department’s deputy spokesman. “And some of them, the purchases are going to be pushed a little bit beyond the future years’ defense plan (FYDP).”
“But I think it’s also important to remember that we’re still at the end of the FYDP going to have a fleet that is roughly the same size as it is as you and I speak today–over 280 ships–so certainly, still the biggest, most capable Navy in the world,” Kirby said at a roundtable discussion recently.
In addition, the Navy plans early retirement of seven Ticonderoga-class (CG-47) cruisers, delay construction of an America-class (LHA-6) large deck amphibious assault ship, and retire two LSD amphibious ships ahead of schedule. Plans to introduce the next generation ballistic missile submarine, the SSBN(X), by the end of the 2020s were also delayed until the early 2030s.
Joe Carnevale, a senior defense adviser at the Shipbuilders Council of America, an association that represents the industry’s interests in Washington, said there was little room for bigger cuts in the budget because the shipbuilding account has not increased much over the last several years. He said he was concerned about the five-year reductions but acknowledged it “could have been worse.”
“I certainly expect Congress to push back on programs that essentially took the biggest hits,” he said. “But in the end there are more members breathing a sigh of relief than cries of anguish.”