The U.S. Navy recently told lawmakers that it is now more than 80 ships short of its threshold to meet future operating needs after raising its target in its latest assessment.
Navy officials detailed the updated goal in the “Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement,” a report mandated by Congress to eventuate the branch’s readiness to fulfill the nation’s national security objectives. Last year, Navy officials indicated that it would need a fleet of 373 ships. However, the latest report increased that number to 381, according to USNI News. The Navy’s ship fleet reportedly stood at 299 as of mid-July.
Branch officials told the publication in a statement that the report reiterates the need for a larger and more capable Navy and that its findings would be incorporated into future planning and budget requests. Further details of the report remained classified.
Following last year’s initial assessment, however, Navy leaders outlined its projected ship shortfalls in the coming decades in greater detail. That report indicated that the Navy would need to more than double its fleet of small surface combatants and add more attack submarines and logistics ships as well as a new category: light amphibious warships.
A long-term shipbuilding plan released earlier this year, meanwhile, outlined a path to just 367 ships by 2053 under the Navy’s most optimistic projections.
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