The USN is attempting to make progress on its planned restructure in its budget request for FY2022.
It wants to reshape the force to better face the threat from China and conduct operations in the Western Pacific. This means withdrawing older ships and aircraft from service to re-allocate the savings into new platforms and capabilities.
But the USN has to do this with a flat budget of $163.9 billion, which is just 0.6% higher than its FY2021 request. This means juggling its existing commitments and moving money around between programmes.
To make some savings, the USN is requesting the withdrawal