In a unified bipartisan front, House lawmakers are challenging the U.S. Navy’s proposal to scale back its shipbuilding agenda, specifically opposing the reduction of Virginia-class attack submarines from two to one in fiscal year 2025. The contention over the Navy’s ship cuts reflects broader concerns about the nation’s maritime readiness and strategic posture, especially in the face of growing undersea threats from China and Russia.
A group of 120 House members, crossing party lines, have voiced their disapproval in a letter to the chamber’s defense appropriators, urging an amendment to the budget that would retain the procurement of two Virginia-class attack submarines next year. The move underscores Congress’s commitment to sustaining a stable production schedule for the shipyard and industrial base, crucial for the Navy’s operational demands.
The proposed scaling down comes as a surprise given the recent AUKUS security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, which entails the U.S. transferring a fleet of nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines to Australia. The AUKUS deal is seen as a strategic pivot to counter China’s military ascendancy in the Indo-Pacific, raising questions about the logic behind the Navy’s planned cuts.
Despite the Pentagon’s argument that a slowdown in submarine procurement would lead to a “better, healthier dynamic” within the industry, plagued by delays, and allow for necessary investments, lawmakers are not convinced. They refer to combatant commanders’ testimonies which indicate that current missions necessitate a larger number of attack submarines than are available.
The Navy plans to retire 19 ships, dropping the fleet to 287 ships in fiscal 2025 and further down to 280 by fiscal 2027, falling significantly short of the 355-ship target previously outlined. China’s fleet, by contrast, is projected to grow nearly to 400 ships by 2025. Representative Rob Wittman captured the urgency of the situation with a vivid metaphor: “Our sailors and Marines are great but until they can walk on water, we better be building them new ships.”
Advocates for maintaining the ship count, such as Rep. Joe Courtney, are poised to utilize Congress’s constitutional powers to provide and maintain a Navy by pushing for the additional submarine in the National Defense Authorization Act and accompanying appropriations legislation. Courtney highlighted the bipartisan success in overriding past administration decisions to cut submarine numbers in 2013 and 2020.
Relevant articles:
– House lawmakers challenge Navy’s shipbuilding plans with call for additional submarine, Stripes, 05/02/2024
– House lawmakers denounce Pentagon’s planned drop in submarine orders, Defense News, 05/01/2024