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The Issue
On December 9, 2020, the U.S. Navy released its Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels, focusing on great-power competition, for fiscal year (FY) 2022 to FY 2051. By itself, this plan is inadequate; it details neither fleet employment nor needed industrial base expansion. Moreover, the plan does not inform the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.
The Naval plan promises a manned fleet of 355 ships three years earlier than the current plan, while deliberately phasing in unmanned ships to the fleet, eventually reaching more than 400 manned ships by 2045. However, it does not provide for building and then sustaining a logistics fleet to meet current and anticipated needs. Unless the Navy can champion this plan successfully, building the needed fleet will be questionable given an accelerating naval competition with China and Russia.