Options for the Navy's Future Fleet

Today's Navy numbers about 285 battle force ships (a category that includes aircraft carriers, submarines, surface combat ships, amphibious warfare ships, and various support vessels). Recently, the Navy indicated that it needs a fleet of 313 ships to perform all of its missions. Building and sustaining such a force, however, would require greater budgetary resources over the next three decades than the Navy has received in recent years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Navy would have to spend an average of about $21 billion per year (in 2007 dollars) on ship procurement to carry out its 313-ship plan- more than 70 percent greater than its average spending between 2000 and 2005. At the same time, the Navy has plans to modernize its aircraft that, if fully implemented, would require more resources than the service currently spends on new planes and helicopters. Given the many pressures that the federal budget will face in coming decades, the Navy might not receive a sizable increase in funding. In that case, what alternative force structures could be accommodated within existing spending levels? This CBO study-prepared at the request of the Subcommittee on Seapower of the Senate Committee on Armed Services-examines that question. It looks at the Navy's modernization plans for ships and aircraft and their budgetary implications. It also analyzes five alternative approaches to modernization that would cost roughly the same average annual amount as the Navy has spent since 2000. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide impartial analysis, this study makes no recommendations.