Navy strategy that pares fleet in near term is rife with risk, analyses say
By ALISON BATH
STARS AND STRIPES • November 23, 2022
The Navy’s strategy to dispose of older vessels and make way for a larger, more lethal fleet is unrealistic and could even hamper its response capability in a protracted confrontation with China, naval analysts say.
The 2023 shipbuilding plan underestimates the cost of replacing destroyers and submarines targeted for decommissioning over the next few years, according to a recent Congressional Budget Office report.
Overall, the Navy would retire “more cruisers, destroyers and submarines than it would commission over the next 10 years,” the report said.
As a result, the lethality of the fleet, measured in part by total missile cells, would decline by 13% cumulatively until 2032, the report estimates.
https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2022-11-23/china-war-submarine-8161845.html
