House authorizers’ draft FY 2025 defense authorization bill includes several strings for the Navy reducing certain forces or fleet numbers, including restrictions on more than two cruiser retirements.
The draft bill particularly says FY ‘25 funding cannot be used to retire or inactivate the USS Shiloh (CG-67) Lake Erie (CG-70) or more than two other guided missile cruisers.
The Navy’s FY ‘25 budget request specifically seeks to retire CG-67 and CG-70 two to three years before their planned service lives. The Navy previously requested retiring CG-67 in the FY ‘24 budget but was rebuffed by Congress (Defense Daily, March 12).
When the FY ‘25 budget request was released in March, Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven argued the Navy made these choices with a hull by hull analysis of how each ship fits into the fleet and its material status.
The FY ‘25 30-year shipbuilding plan elaborated that while the cruisers have a large VLS capacity their age and material condition have put them at the end of their useful service lives (Defense Daily, March 21).
“There are ongoing concerns with functionality, reliability, and obsolescence for sensors, weapon systems, and hull, mechanical, and electrical (HM&E) systems installed more than 30 years ago,” the plan said.
Last year, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said CG-67 was one of three cruisers the Navy sought to retire but whose life could be extended by one or two deployments if the Navy was given enough funding (Defense Daily, April 28, 2023).
Separately, the bill directs the Secretary of Defense has to submit an additional assessment if the 30-year shipbuilding plan reduces the total battle force ship number during the 10 years after submission compared to the previous year’s submission.
In this scenario, the Defense Secretary would include a separate assessment describing how this proposed reduction in ships would support the national security strategy; identify the total resources previously allocated for the ships no longer being requested, including research and development, advance procurement, advanced construction and economic order quantity funds; identify the total amount of resources the industrial base has allocated to support the ships now not being requested; and an analysis of the effect of the ship reduction on overall ship class requirements.
The committee would incentivize receiving the report by limiting the Secretary of Defense executive travel funds to 75 percent until the extra assessment is submitted, if not with the normal 30-year shipbuilding plan.