US Navy document paints a bleak picture of fleet's future if hit with 2020 budget cuts

[nitpicker]

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/12/18/us-navy-document-paints-a-bleak-picture-of-its-future-if-hit-with-2020-budget-cuts/

US Navy document paints a bleak picture of fleet’s future if hit with 2020 budget cuts

By: David B. Larter    13 hours ago

Cuts to new ships, aircraft, maintenance and much-needed public shipyard modernization are on deck if Congress can’t come to an agreement to avert across-the-board cuts to the defense budget by January of 2020, according to a document submitted to lawmakers Dec. 12.

The document, used by Navy Secretary Richard Spencer at a recent Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing, shows the potential impact of cuts on various states and congressional districts. And while most of the line items are vague about specific cuts, there are some troubling indications about where the Navy could be looking to take risks, and it’s familiar story.

Renovations to naval shipyards could be deferred, part of the 20-year, $21 billion plan to modernize the public shipyards, the document reads. Furthermore, the Navy is eyeing cuts to ship maintenance availabilities, a move that tends to have a cascading effect, creating delays and degrading the material condition of ships on the waterfront for years into the future.

The Navy is also threatening furloughs and hiring freezes at the public yards, which likewise creates delays and impacts for the maintenance and general readiness of the fleet, which under ideal conditions is challenged to maintain because of the breakneck pace of operations and difficulty keeping maintenance schedules.

At the hearing, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran acknowledged that not just one but three of the Navy’s attack submarines has been decertified for dives while awaiting needed maintenance, which prompted a testy exchange with South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds over how forthright the Navy has been about its needs and how it’s using its increasing resources.
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[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. Poor military. How can they survive on billions per year?

Shits so old. Americans safety begins w the generals etc. Seems they have some house cleaning to do before their budgetary concerns can even contemplated. Were Flynn in charge all the budget would be to building the russian navy, not ours.
Steel tariffs have anything to do w shipyard lay-offs? Possibly?

[Dennis Donovan]

2. I'm half-surprised Trump didn't try to reactivate the battleships like Reagan did

Reagan reactivated them as part of his new "600-ship" navy, but they never bought new powder bags for the 16 inchers (hence, what happened on USS Iowa in 1989).

[Kaleva]

5. Those old powder bags were used to great effect during the Persian Gulf War.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. They were, but they were still unstable

...of course, over-ramming the bags during the USS Iowa firing exercise was a factor as well.

[HopeAgain]

3. Ever hear the military say...

No worries, we have plenty of cash? Me neither.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Maybe they could hold a bake sale or start a GoFundMe page.

[soryang]

7. One aircraft carrier costs over 13 billion

One Zumwalt class costs over 3 billion. Procurement and contracting terms are dictated by corrupt and unaccountable contractors. That's the real problem. Maybe some of the endless wars and military conflicts could be curtailed so they can fix their submarines.

The new PCA 6th generation fighter program for 2030 is projecting a cost of 300 million plus per aircraft with a production run of over four hundred aircraft. This is absurd. By the time they get it done, they'll have 60 aircraft and each one will cost five hundred million dollars.