The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has released its annual assessment of the Navy’s shipbuilding plan. The latest report covers the service’s FY20 budget request and long-term spending plans. The Navy’s FY20 shipbuilding plan differs little from its FY19 plan, as the service maintains a goal of eventually building a fleet of 355 battle force ships.
The CBO typically believes the Navy underestimates long-term shipbuilding costs, and the latest report continues this trend. The CBO estimates that construction of new ships will cost an average of $28.8 billion per year over 30 years, compared to the Navy’s $22 billion per-year estimate. The Navy’s budget for new ships has averaged $13.8 billion over the past 30 years (2019 dollars).
Additional costs outside of new-ship construction bring the total warship budget to $31 billion per year over 30 years, according to the CBO, compared to the historical average of $16 billion per year.
An Analysis of the Navy's Fiscal Year 2020 Shipbuilding PlanDownload the full report here.
