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How the Hedge Strategy will impact the US Navy’s future capabilities

11th February 2026 - 11:42 GMT | by Flavia Camargos Pereira in Kansas City, Missouri

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Blueprint of the Constellation-class guided-missile frigates. (Photo: US Department of Defense)

The US Navy Hedge Strategy is intended to provide a lethal, modular and cost-effective fleet while accepting Washington’s fiscal and industrial constraints.

The US Navy (USN) will adopt a more realistic approach to conduct its development and procurement programmes as part of its recently announced Hedge Strategy, which focuses on lethality, adaptability and affordability.

The policy prioritises the acquisition of cost-effective, flexible, modular, multidomain capabilities in a schedule that aligns with Washington’s financial and defence manufacturing capacities.

It aims to address the multiple delays and cost overruns that have been recorded in several acquisition programmes, with a Congressional Research Service report published on 20 January – titled Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans – revealing that the service’s main shipbuilding efforts are currently between one and three

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