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Transforming the Navy's Surface Combatant Force 1 (April 2003)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo9714 and id is 1 raw text is: A series of issue summal.es from the Congressional Budget Office APRIL 7, 2003 Transforming the Navy's Surface Combatant Force The Bush Administration came into office announcing its intention to transform the military into a more effective and lethal force. Perhaps the most visible transformation effort involving the Navy is the drive to modernize the surface combatant force. That force, which represents more than one-third of the Navy's fleet, comprises cruisers, des- troyers, and frigates. (It excludes aircraft carriers, amphi- bious ships, and support ships.) Over the next 10 to 15 years, the Navy plans to retire one class of destroyers, mod- ernize its cruisers and frigates, and introduce three new classes of surface combatants. That plan-which is at the heart of the Navy's effort to expand the total fleet from a little over 300 ships to 375 ships-would produce a force of 160 surface combatants 25 years from now, compared with today's force of 115 surface combatants. The resources needed for that expansion, however, are much larger than what the Navy now spends on surface combat- ants. Thus, without large budget increases, transforming the surface combatant force could crowd out funding for other ship programs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examined three alternative approaches for structuring the surface combatant force that would limit average annual spending on procure- ment and direct operation and support costs to roughly the amount spent last year: $6.6 billion (in 2003 dollars). The Navy could cap average spending at that level and still have a larger and more capable force of surface combatants in 25 years. However, the additional money that the Navy would spend under its plan would provide an even bigger and more effective force than would any ofCBO's options. The Resource Implications of Modernizing the Force At present, the Navy's force of surface combatants comprises 17 Spruance class destroyers, 27 Ticonderoga class cruisers, 33 Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates, and 38 Arleigh Burke class destroyers. Although they continue to be adapted for other missions, those ships constitute the final Cold War generation of surface combatants designed for open-ocean naval warfare against the Soviet Union. The Navy proposes to introduce a new generation ofsurface combatants designed to confront new threats and perform new missions. With the demise of the Soviet fleet, Navy leaders have refocused their attention on influencing events

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