{"id":17542,"date":"2018-10-26T09:26:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T09:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/26\/move-over-355-ship-navy-report-from-trumps-favorite-think-tank-calls-for-an-even-larger-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:36:17","slug":"move-over-355-ship-navy-report-from-trumps-favorite-think-tank-calls-for-an-even-larger-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/10\/26\/move-over-355-ship-navy-report-from-trumps-favorite-think-tank-calls-for-an-even-larger-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Moveover, 355-ship Navy: New report calls for an even larger fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2013 The U.S. is woefully short of ships and even the Navy\u2019s target goal of 355 ships<\/a> is well short of what the country needs to prepare for two simultaneous major conflicts and maintain its rotational presence requirements<\/a> with excess capacity for surge operations and combat casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the major finding of a new study<\/a> from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, an organization prominent in the Trump era because of its knack for influencing administration policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study calls for a force of 400 ships, 40 percent larger than today\u2019s force, and an increase of about 12 percent over the Navy\u2019s current 30-year shipbuilding plan<\/a>. The plan would require another $4 to $6 billion annually in the shipbuilding budget to get to 400 ships by 2039, the study estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, conducted and written by Thomas Callender, a retired submarine officer and analyst at Heritage, acknowledges the difficulty of achieving a 400-ship fleet under budget constraints and with a limited industrial capacity in the U.S. But, Callender said, the study was based solely on current demands on the fleet, as well as the National Security Strategy and what Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has laid out in the National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy analysis was strictly based on requirements to fight and win two major regional conflicts as well as some additional stated requirements for certain ship classes,\u201d Callender said. \u201cI acknowledge that this will mean a significant increase in the Navy\u2019s shipbuilding budget \u2013 about $4-6 billion above the Navy\u2019s long-range shipbuilding plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t