President Trump has pledged to deliver “peace through strength”—restoring American military power, enhancing capacity, and preserving deterrence in Asia as China menaces Taiwan and accelerates its military buildup. Naval power supports all U.S. military capacity. Revitalizing the military will require the president, his team and the entire Pentagon bureaucracy to undertake reforms. Three steps are essential: establishing accountability for naval procurement and construction, contracting with foreign yards for combat support tasks and possibly warships, and securing a much larger defense budget, including for Navy shipbuilding.
Mr. Trump inherits a precarious international situation. Ukraine has fought Russia to a standstill, but the U.S. must still end the conflict without further eroding American credibility or weakening America’s position in western Eurasia. Iran is in a feebler position than six months ago, facing a financial crisis and with key proxies either battered or destroyed, but its relationship with Russia and China may still allow it to reconstitute its capabilities. China sustains Russia’s war in Ukraine and is expanding its conventional and nuclear capabilities to deter the U.S. and its Pacific allies in the event of a Taiwan crisis.
In all these cases, naval power is crucial. The U.S. Navy’s ability to maintain sea control across the Eurasian coastline allows American forces, supplies and materiel to move among different areas, managing crises and, during a major war, taking the offensive against the enemy. In the Pacific, naval forces will bear the brunt of the combat load, alongside the Air Force’s long-range bombers. A capable U.S. Navy is key to both regional deterrence and combat capability.
Yet the Navy isn’t building ships fast enough. The Navy’s mainline surface combatants, its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, are capable all-around warships. Their newest variant, the Flight-III, incorporates key technical innovations, including new radars, better propulsion systems, and improved air defenses. The 23 Flight-IIIs the Navy plans to procure under the 30-year shipbuilding plan, however, will cost $400 million over budget each, with a cost of $2.7 billion a ship. Only one Flight-III is currently launched. Three more are being built, facing six-month to two-year construction delays.
All other major warship programs face similar impediments. The Navy’s Constellation-class frigate, meant to be a cheap, small warship, has ballooned to well over $1 billion a hull. It is 20% to 40% more expensive than its European parent design, and has been delayed by three years. The Navy’s next carrier, the USS Enterprise, will reach the fleet more than two years behind schedule. The first Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic-missile submarine, a cornerstone of our nuclear deterrent, will be launched a year late. New Virginia-class attack submarines, essential for degrading Chinese reconnaissance capabilities and allowing the rest of the military to fight in Asia, will enter service two to three years late. Even the Navy’s future warships, still in the design phase, will be significantly more expensive than projected. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts the Navy’s next-generation destroyer will cost $1 billion more than projected.
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Seth Cropsey is the founder and president of Yorktown Institute.
