USN offers three paths forward for future fleet
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) transits the Gulf of Alaska as part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. (Photo: USN)
At the high end, the USN’s plans could deliver a fleet of 367 vessels by 2032; however, the lowest alternative would only provide a fleet of 316 ships and submarines.
The USN has released a long-awaited 30-year shipbuilding plan, detailing three possible alternative pipelines for its future fleet — but only one would deliver the much-discussed 355-ship navy.
In the plan, the USN lays out three alternative procurement profiles over the next 30 years, with the range of options detailing a battle force inventory of 316 vessels on the low end and 367 at the high end by 2052.
Also included in the plan is a middle-of-the-road option that would deliver a fleet of 327 ships and submarines by 2052.
Republican lawmakers have decried the plan, with Representative Mike Gallagher
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