Joint Sealift Ships
Replace the eight Fast Sealift Ships now in service with a new class of High Speed Shallow Draft ships.
Combat Logistics Force and Support Ships
The Navy should transfer the twelfth T-AKE ship from the now-defunct MPF(F) to the Combat Logistics Force (CLF) while also consolidating future CLF shipbuilding on this hull form. The Navy should begin to replace its oilers from FY 2011 until FY 2025 at the rate of one per year with a hull based on the T-AKE. In FY 2027, the Navy would then shift over to a new T-AOE(X) station ship, based on the T-AKE hull, at an average rate of one per year. By the mid-2030s, the CLF fleet would thus consist of 31 ships, all based on a common hull, providing a significant savings in training and maintenance costs. The Navy should also purchase an additional five JHSVs for general fleet support.
A Larger, More Capable, and More Affordable TFBN
Compared to today’s fleet, the 2028 TFBN would be more capable across the full naval warfighting spectrum. At the lower end of the spectrum, the TFBN would have substantially more capacity for day-to-day engagement with smaller navies and for counterterrorism and maritime security missions. At the higher end, the TFBN’s undersea combat fleet would be more capable of taking on undersea combat networks, and its surface fleet would be far more able to fight from range against maritime A2/AD networks and nuclear-armed regional powers. Meanwhile, the TFBN would be in the midst of a fleet-wide transition and consolidation of ship types, with significant payoffs for training, maintenance, and logistics. These ships would also have a high degree of interoperability and mission flexibility that would result in a TFBN that is more adaptable and versatile.
Over the next thirty years, this plan would see the new construction of 328 major warships and submarines, not counting any ships built or leased for the sealift fleet. Using the more conservative Congressional Budget Office estimates as a basis for comparison, the average yearly total shipbuilding costs for this plan would be $21.8 billion, including $19.9 billion in new-ship construction. These figures include the costs for the SSBN(X), as well as those for small boats, craft, and manned under- water vehicles. Nevertheless, the plan would still call for a significant increase in ship-building resources — about 74 percent more than the $12.6 billion per year spent on shipbuilding between FY 2003 and FY 2008.