
The Trump administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request adds only eight battle force ships, two fewer than previously planned, while also planning to retire four Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs). The Navy is requesting $207.1 billion overall, $2.9 billion less than in FY 2020. Ship procurement is set at $20 billion, down from the $24 billion and four more ships the Navy requested and Congress allocated in its FY ’20 defense budget bill (Defense Daily, Dec. 17, 2019). The Navy…