A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that the U.S. Navy’s fiscal year 2023 shipbuilding plan to expand its fleet size to between 316 and 367 aircraft carriers, surface combatants, submarines and other battle force ships would cost approximately $30 billion to $33 billion in 2022 dollars annually over three decades.
CBO said Thursday the figures were based on its analysis of three alternative projections of the Navy’s future fleet in the service’s FY 2023 shipbuilding plan.
The alternatives in the plan “would require average annual shipbuilding appropriations that were 23 percent to 35 percent more than the average over the past five years” and the military branch’s total budget would jump to approximately $290 billion in 2052, up from the current $220 billion, according to the CBO report.
According to the report, the Navy would buy more large surface combatants under alternative 1, purchase more submarines under alternative 2 and procure more vessels of all types under alternative 3, except for submarines.
CBO said the military branch would see the firepower of its fleet of ships reduced over the next 10 years but would broaden its missile capability by raising the number of missile cells and fielding them on more vessels under all three alternatives.
