Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress

Ronald O'Rourke
Specialist in Naval Affairs

The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy’s shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years.

In February 2006, the Navy presented to Congress a goal of achieving and maintaining a fleet of 313 ships, consisting of certain types and quantities of ships. In September 2011, the Navy began briefing congressional offices on a revised 313-ship plan that altered planned numbers for certain ship categories while staying within the overall total of 313 ships. On January 31, 2012, the Navy announced that it had begun a force structure assessment, to be completed in several months, that could lead to a new force structure goal for the Navy.

On January 26, 2012, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced certain program decisions that are to be incorporated into DOD’s proposed FY2013 budget. The proposed changes include the early retirement of nine Navy ships and the deferrals of certain ships in the Navy’s shipbuilding plan. DOD also announced that it plans to maintain the current force of 11 aircraft carriers and 10 carrier air wings.

The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget requested funding for the procurement of 10 new battle force ships (i.e., ships that count against the 313-ship goal). The 10 ships included two Virginiaclass attack submarines, one DDG-51 class Aegis destroyer, four Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs), one LPD-17 class amphibious ship, one Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship (i.e., a maritime prepositioning ship), and one Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Navy’s five-year (FY2012- FY2016) shipbuilding plan, submitted to Congress in conjunction with the Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget, included a total of 55 new battle force ships, or an average of 11 per year. Of the 55 ships in the plan, 27, or almost half, are relatively inexpensive LCSs or JHSVs.

The Navy’s FY2012 30-year (FY2012-FY2041) shipbuilding plan, submitted to Congress in late May 2011, does not include enough ships to fully support all elements of the Navy’s 313-ship goal over the long run. Among other things, the Navy projects that the cruiser-destroyer and attack submarine forces would drop substantially below required levels in the latter years of the 30-year plan.

A June 2011 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the cost of the Navy’s FY2012 30- year (FY2012-FY2041) shipbuilding plan estimates that the plan would cost an average of $18.0 billion per year in constant FY2011 dollars to implement, or about 16% more than the Navy estimates. CBO’s estimate is about 7% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the first 10 years of the plan, about 10% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the second 10 years of the plan, and about 31% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the final 10 years of the plan.


Date of Report: February 7, 2012
Number of Pages: 40
Order Number: RL32665
Price: $29.95

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