![]() ![]() Proponents of defense spending called the topline too small to tackle the growing defense challenges. The White House asked for $773 billion in its fiscal 2023 defense spending request this spring, or 4.1% more than the enacted level for FY22 -though inflation eats into much of that. Anything less, he said, would result in a smaller but more capable fleet, vowing to continue prioritizing readiness and modernization over size. ![]() Gilday said he hoped his Navigation Plan 2022 would appeal to Congress and to Pentagon leadership and might pave the way for the “3-5% sustained budget growth above actual inflation” needed to sustain his vision. It calls for 12 Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines as the undersea nuclear deterrent, 12 aircraft carriers, 66 attack submarines and large payload submarines, 96 large combatants such as destroyers, 56 small combatants such as littoral combat ships and frigates, 31 traditional amphibious ships, 18 light amphibious warships, about 150 unmanned surface and undersea vessels, 82 logistics and auxiliary ships, and a sophisticated blend of manned and unmanned aircraft to complement the fleet. Unlike the original navigation plan, the updated document includes a Force Design 2045 plan, a vision of the future fleet that mirrors what Gilday has called for in other recent documents. Congress has been willing to add funding in each year for a few ships beyond what’s in the Pentagon- and White House-approved budget request, but these ad hoc additions make it tougher to grow the force in a predictable manner. That focus on being forward for day-to-day campaigning activities will require a larger fleet, Gilday has previously told Defense News, with more money to support manpower and training and maintenance - which is where the rub is, as the Navy has struggled to receive a larger portion of the budget from the Pentagon. “As the secretary discusses campaigning and how it’s intended to not only compete with China in the gray zone, if you will, but also put us in a position of advantage should the nation need us in a pinch quickly, I think absolutely plays to the new NDS in a powerful way,” he added. “Particularly when the secretary talks about campaigning as the means to the ends - the ends being integrated deterrence - and so with respect to campaigning, the value of a navy is the forward presence, it is keeping those sea lanes open, it is protecting those for the free movement of trade,” Gilday said during a call with reporters Tuesday. government to deter an adversary from taking an aggressive action ‘ campaigning forward’ to build up the capability of international coalitions and complicate adversaries’ actions and building enduring advantages through investing in the right technologies and people. ![]() The updated National Defense Strategy remains classified, but a fact sheet lays out three priorities: integrated deterrence, or coordinating military, diplomatic and economic levers from across the U.S. But it reframes the role of the service, arguing the Navy is uniquely positioned to conduct aspects of the Pentagon’s 2022 National Defense Strategy and that his modernization priorities would directly support the direction of the NDS. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |