WASHINGTON - The House Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection panel is pushing to save five ships the Navy wants to decommission, rejecting the service's proposal to retire 24 ships in its FY 2023 budget. The subpanel wants to keep the cruiser USS Vicksburg, and four landing dock ships, in the fleet, according to committee aides. There appears to be a consensus that USS Vicksburg should be retained, according to an aide speaking on condition of anonymity. Regarding the landing dock ships, there is support for the Marine Commandant's assessment that he needs about 31 amphibious ships thus, prohibiting the retirement of the LSDs addresses that issue, the aide said. The HASC will announce parts of its legislative agenda for the FY 2023 NDAA during six subcommittee markups this week. A full committee markup is scheduled for June 22. The Senate ASC will begin unveiling its version of the bill next week. USS Vicksburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided cruiser, was built at HII-Pascagoula, Miss., and launched in 1991. It is currently near the end of a nearly $500M modernization overhaul in Virginia. (Source: Stars and Stripes 06/07/22) House panel aims to save five ships from retirement, rejecting Navy’s plan to decommission them | Stars and Stripes
No comments:
Post a Comment