The Pentagon’s 2018 funding bill sent to President Donald Trump’s desk Thursday commits official U.S. policy to maintaining a 355-ship Navy.
“It shall be the policy of the United States to have available, as soon as practicable, not fewer than 355 battle force ships, comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding subject to the availability of appropriations or other funds,” the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 reads.
The official policy fulfills Trump’s long-standing campaign promise of facilitating a large naval buildup to beyond 350 ships.
However, experts and current U.S. officials warn that such a large increase from the current fleet of 275 ships will cost tens of billions of dollars and take decades to build. “It’s going to take a long time and it’s going to take a lot of money,” acting Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas Dee said in October, adding “we can be on the mark by mid-century.”
Yet USNI News noted that a Congressional Budget Office estimate put the timeline of completion for such a fleet at mid-2030 and requires an increase of 3.1 trillion dollars in the meantime. “A 15-year build-up is the most expensive option, $3.1 trillion through 2047 to build and maintain the fleet, but would only cost about three percent more than a 30-year build-up plan,” the Naval news outlet wrote, summarizing the testimony of a Naval expert.
“I think it’s going to be very hard for them to work this into the budget in any sort of realistic way,” Center for Strategic and International Studies analyst Todd Harrison told Foreign Policy of the Pentagon’s lack of plans to build the 355-ship fleet.
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