{"id":58105,"date":"2019-12-27T18:14:35","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T18:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/27\/proposal-for-sweeping-cuts-to-us-navy-shipbuilding-force-structure-could-herald-a-new-strategy-experts-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:06:38","slug":"proposal-for-sweeping-cuts-to-us-navy-shipbuilding-force-structure-could-herald-a-new-strategy-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/12\/27\/proposal-for-sweeping-cuts-to-us-navy-shipbuilding-force-structure-could-herald-a-new-strategy-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposal for sweeping cuts to US Navy shipbuilding, force structure could herald a new strategy, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 A sweeping series of proposed cuts to the U.S. Navy<\/a>\u2019s shipbuilding programs and force structure could herald a new strategy for a slimmed-down fleet, or could fizzle out in the budgetary process. But the fact that such a proposal is on the table in the first place shows the pressure under which the Defense Department is working as it anticipates a flat budget and a stack of modernization bills to pay, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A memo obtained by Defense News and sent by the White House\u2019s Office of Management and Budget to the Department of Defense outlined dramatic cuts to the Navy\u2019s Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer<\/a> program, cutting five out of the 12 proposed over the five-year Future Years Defense Program, of FYDP. It also pushed a Block V Virginia-class attack submarine out of the 2021 budget, dropping down to one from the planned two. And it slowed down the buy for the planned 20-ship FFG(X) program, ordering just one in 2021 and 2022, instead of the planned two each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cuts to force structure were even more dramatic. The Navy accelerated the decommissioning<\/a> of four cruisers and considered canceling<\/a> service-life extensions on some of its oldest cruisers. The service is also planning to retire the first four littoral combat ships as many as 17 years early, and is planning to retire three dock landing ships early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo reflects a complete reversal of strategy from the planned 355-ship Navy, which is written into national policy, and actually shrinks the force to 287 ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pressure is coming for multiple directions, said Bryan Clark, an analyst and retired submarine officer with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Navy and Air Force are getting eaten alive by sustainment costs and [Office of the Secretary of Defense] bills for space, hypersonics, etc.,\u201d Clark said in an email. \u201cThey need to come up with savings in the near term, which can be achieved by cutting procurement. In the mid-term, the Navy is looking to save money by retiring ships early to recover the O&M and address manning shortfalls by moving Sailors to the newer ships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the cuts could also be paving the way for a new, smaller Navy that relies more on unmanned technology to make up for fewer large manned surface combatants, Clark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Navy is also likely to propose revising ship counting rules to add unmanned vessels, which would let it still reach 355,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThat is likely the reason the acting [secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly], talks about reaching 355 ships by 2030, even as the DoD budget currently proposes to shrink the manned portion of the fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the memo itself, which amounts to a back-and-forth between OMB and the DoD over areas of disagreement, directs the Navy to submit a plan to get to 355 ships by 2030 and do so by incorporating unmanned. \u201cOMB directs DOD to submit a resource-informed plan to achieve a 355-ship combined fleet, including manned and unmanned ships, by 2030,\u201d the memo read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some analysts were thrilled to see the Navy cut investments to unmanned platforms. Michael O\u2019Hanlon with Brookings Institution said this was a step in the right direction for the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am thrilled by these changes,\u201d O\u2019Hanlon said. \u201cThey put quality over quantity and innovation over tradition. As best I can tell they are spot on with my strategic priorities and those of the [National Defense Strategy].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But others were wary of cutting current force structure to pay for unproven \u2014 indeed, yet to be designed and built \u2014 unmanned platforms. Dan Gour\u00e9, an analyst with the Arlington-based think tank The Lexington Institute and former Bush administration defense official, said it\u2019s a strategy that rarely works out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt sends a bit of a chill up my spine to hear that the Navy may be considering cutting a bird in the hand for a theoretical eagle down the road,\u201d Goure said. \u201cThat almost never works. I\u2019ve been doing this long enough, 40 years of this. Tell me when that\u2019s ever really worked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
BAE was assigned the use of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s Dry Dock 4 , seen here in 2009 when undocking the guided-missile cruiser Port Royal. (Liane Nakahara\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Significant impact<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

News of the proposed cuts made waves with some in Congress. A local station in Mississippi, where half of the Navy\u2019s Arleigh Burke destroyers are constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries, sought comment from several of their lawmakers who expressed displeasure with the cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d remind the Pentagon that through the authorization and appropriations processes, Congress will ultimately decide the sizes of our manned and unmanned fleets,\u201d Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., told WLOX. \u201cNow more than ever we need these multimission ships to fight against the real threats from countries like Russia and China. I find it doubtful that Congress would buy into this plan to limit construction of destroyers while we are actively working to rebuild our military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jerry Hendrix, an analyst with the Telemus Group and a retired Navy captain, said recent comments by acting Secretary Modly and the president\u2019s national security adviser have signaled that the Trump administration is on board with 355 ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the likelihood of the cuts going through to be low,\u201d Hendrix said. \u201cThey had a higher chance prior to [national security adviser Robert] O\u2019Brien\u2019s speech at the Reagan Defense Forum and Thomas Modly\u2019s elevation to Acting SecNav.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that there is now political leadership for a 350-ship Navy, and now it is clear that a 350-ship Navy \u2014 or 355-plus, as Modly puts it \u2014 is a political as well as a strategic issue for the administration, and it is unlikely that the Trump administration will accept retrenchment in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cuts themselves would create serious setbacks for some shipbuilders, Hendrix said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch cuts would be disastrous for the building programs and would cause layoffs within the two surface shipyards,\u201d Hendrix said, referring to Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. \u201cI don\u2019t think it would cause layoffs in the Virginia-class yards because they are going full out [to build Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines] and seem to be having problems keeping up with production demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need stability in the shipbuilding industrial base, and such cutbacks are going the opposite direction of the strategic goals laid out by DoD, the [Department of the Navy] and the White House over the past three years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
First in its class, the attack sub Virginia is shown here on Aug. 13, 2013 departing Naval Submarine Base New London for a six-month deployment. The Oregon, the next in Virginia class, is slated to be christened on Saturday. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Clark, with CSBA, agreed, saying that Bath Iron Works could be especially affected. \u201cI think the impact on the industrial base will be significant,\u201d he said. \u201cIn particular, BIW may lose some ships. If they don\u2019t get the FFG(X), that could leave BIW with gaps in production. They and HII may need to pursue unmanned vessels to sustain their workload.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, the proposed cuts were disappointing but unsurprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan McGrath, a retired destroyer captain and analyst with defense consultancy The Ferrybridge Group, said the plan to reduce the size of the fleet is a sign that the Defense Department isn\u2019t willing to put the resources required toward growing the fleet, despite the 355-ship rhetoric of the Trump era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is why it\u2019s so hard to grow a Navy,\u201d McGrath said. \u201cYou have to decide it\u2019s a national priority, you have to devote a lot of resources and you have to do it over a period of years. None of that has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A dramatic series of cuts could force the Navy in a new direction, one that relies on unmanned ships and fewer sailors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":115557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,16,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3361],"class_list":["post-58105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-naval","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KFUNFN7DZNFUBMSEUUD77PAPOA","arc_canonical_url":"\/naval\/2019\/12\/27\/proposal-for-sweeping-cuts-to-us-navy-shipbuilding-force-structure-could-herald-a-new-strategy-experts-say\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nProposal for sweeping cuts to US Navy shipbuilding, force structure could herald a new strategy, experts say - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A dramatic series of cuts could force the Navy in a new direction, one that relies on unmanned ships and fewer sailors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Proposal for sweeping cuts to US Navy shipbuilding, force structure could herald a new strategy, experts say\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A dramatic series of cuts could force the Navy in a new direction, one that relies on unmanned ships and fewer sailors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/12\/27\/proposal-for-sweeping-cuts-to-us-navy-shipbuilding-force-structure-could-herald-a-new-strategy-experts-say\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-27T18:14:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:06:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David B. 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