Rep.: 500 ships ‘nonsensical’

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday it is “utterly nonsensical” to predicate the Navy’s future fleet plan for 2045 on meeting a goal of 500 ships. He opined that the effort should instead focus on building in the necessary capability for future operational requirements. “Seemingly, for as long as I’ve been a member on the Armed Services Committee, they’ve been talking about a 350-ship Navy,” the congressman continued. “(W)e’ve never gotten there, we’ve never gotten particularly close.” In early October, Defense Secretary Mark Esper unveiled the service’s ‘Battle Force 2Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Mark Esper unveiled the new Battle Force 2045 fleet plan that calls for calls for building out a 500-ship fleet. Smith indicated “‘maybe the 350-ship Navy isn’t the thing, maybe we should look at capabilities” instead. The Navy saus “say if we can’t build 350 (ships) let’s build 500. That aspect of it is utterly nonsensical. The congressman wants the Navy to future-plan with targeted investments in next-generation capabilities required for a future fight rather than trying to meet a specific, pre-set I’m number of ships. However, he did note the 2025 plan did include discussions on capabilities that would allow the Navy to be “survivable, (and would) have command and control systems that will enable them to function and how to take advantage of the mobility of those ships.” (Source: Defense Daily 10/21/20) https://www.defensedaily.com/utterly-nonsensical-focus-navy-future-fleet-plan-meeting-500-ship-goal-hasc-chair-says/navy-usmc/