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.
As editor of International Military Markets, North America, Shaun has cultivated a deep understanding of the vast defense markets in the United States and Canada. Shaun's perspective on defense procurement and budget issues has been cited in a variety of defense periodicals, including Defense News and National Defense Magazine. Further, Shaun played an integral role in the development of Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast product, which offers an unprecedented level of insight into the Pentagon's acquisition budget. In addition to providing original analytical content for the U.S. Defense Budget Forecast, Shaun oversees an internal defense budget forecasting process involving Forecast International's team of skilled systems analysts following release of the DoD's annual budget request. Shaun is also in charge of managing Forecast International's Weapons Inventory database.
