Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, director of surface warfare (N96) at the U.S. Navy, has said the service branch is working to analyze capability gaps to prepare for its procurement of the Future Surface Combatant slated for 2030.
He told Defense News reporter Christopher Cavas in an interview published Sunday that the production of Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the replacement of coastal patrol boats are also in the pipeline of programs.
Fanta noted that the Navy will seek to both sustain existing capabilities and introduce new ones as it aims to match capability and capacity requirements to the threat environment.
“We look at future threats, at how those threats come together, what the build rates on the threats are, what we’re most likely to experience and then what do we expect the ship to do,” he said.
He added that budget shortfalls have impacted some planned programs, including modernization efforts for cruiser and amphibious ships and the acquisition of more surface-to-surface missiles for naval vessels.
