By
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on June 03, 2021 at 1:46 PM
Modifications to the latest version of the Navy DDG-51 destroyer, the Flight III. CREDIT: GAO
WASHINGTON: Days after a leading congressman criticized the Navy’s 2022 budget for buying only one Aegis destroyer instead of two, the Navy released an unfunded requirements list with that second destroyer right at the top of the chart. The almost $1.7 billion line item was almost certainly on the draft list before Rep. Joe Courtney’s public critique, but the House seapower chairman’s reaction can only have helped cement its place as the No. 1 thing the Navy would like Congress to add to its budget request. (Since it’s likely to be added to the annual spending bill anyway because of the high congressional interest, it makes it even easier to put it on the list…)