The Navy on Monday rolled out a 30-year plan to bolster American dominance at sea, focusing on rebuilding a stagnant industrial base and creating a lethal fighting force.
The fiscal 2027 Shipbuilding Plan calls for $68.5 billion — a nearly 57% increase over last year’s request — and asks Congress for 34 manned warships and five unmanned warfighting platforms by the end of next year.
The plan also calls for an additional 122 ships and 63 unmanned systems over the next five years. That includes 10 Virginia-class attack submarines, five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, seven Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and 23 Medium Landing Ships for the Marine Corps.
Navy officials said the plan will go a long way in building the Golden Fleet, President Trump’s centerpiece naval initiative that looks to build a new class of nuclear-powered battleships.
“The United States is at a strategic inflection point. Rebuilding American maritime dominance requires urgency, accountability and sustained commitment,” acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said in a statement. “This Shipbuilding Plan provides a roadmap for the Golden Fleet to grow a larger, more capable Fleet while revitalizing the industrial base, strengthening our workforce, and ensuring our Sailors and Marines have the platforms they need to defeat any adversary for decades to come.”
The report confirms the new “Trump-class” battleships will be nuclear powered and have “longer endurance, higher speed, and advanced weapons systems,” including hypersonic missiles and high-energy lasers.
The report also notes that the cost of the ships, estimated at $17.5 billion per ship, is being refined.
The confirmation ends months of speculation about the new battleship class. As late as April, then-Navy Secretary John C. Phelan said it was unlikely the new ships would be nuclear powered.
Mr. Trump fired Mr. Phelan in April and replaced him with Mr. Cao.
The push for more ships comes as strategic experts and defense officials call for a revitalization of U.S. shipbuilding.
Despite the shipbuilding budget doubling over the past 20 years, the Navy has operated with approximately the same number of ships. The Navy currently operates 291 battle force ships, 64 fewer than the 355 mandated by law.
The Shipbuilding Plan calls for a shift from tolerating cost overruns and schedule slippage from contractors. It proposes instituting contractual requirements that would force shipbuilders to invest their own money in infrastructure to receive Navy business.
The plan also highlights recent government-funded wage increases at domestic factories that could be used as a model for future investment. Such investments, the report argues, could severely reduce worker attrition and improve productivity.
Additionally, the plan proposes leaning on allied nations to build auxiliary vessels, such as logistics ships, when domestic manufacturing falls short.
