U.S. Navy's unfunded priorities list for next year reveals need for an additional destroyer surface warship

June 11, 2021
Strong support exists in Congress for shipbuilding; lawmakers already have expressed concern over the Navy’s original request for just one destroyer.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is interested in buying a second destroyer in fiscal 2022 if it were given money beyond what’s in the White House-approved budget, Navy officials wrote in the service's annual Unfunded Priorities List. Defense News reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

11 June 2021 -- The Navy’s 2022 budget request asks for eight ships – four warships and four support ships, including just one destroyer. But a second document tells lawmakers that the Navy's top need is $1.66 billion to buy a second destroyer next year.

The document notes the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer "provides increased multi-mission capability and capacity in the most demanding warfight."

The Flight III destroyer surface warship not only would help replace the sea service’s aging cruisers, but its purchase would avoid a $33 million penalty the Navy would pay for breaking its obligation under the multiyear contract and would ensure that the flow of construction at Ingalls and Bath remains on track.

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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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