Marine Log - March 2009 - (Page 20) ICE CLASS TANKERS guided missile submarines when they are retired in the mid-2020s but would call for the purchase of 12 new ballistic missile submarines. Meeting that goal would require the Navy to order the first new ballistic missile submarine in 2019. The Navy’s short-term goal is to reduce the price of the new Virginia class attack submarine to $2.2 billion (in 2009 dollars) and to increase procurement to two per year starting in 2011. CBO projects that the Navy’s current plans for sustaining the attack, guided-missile, and ballistic missile submarine forces would cost, on average, more than $7.2 billion per year over the next two decades, or as much as $8.4 billion annually, including historical cost growth. Amphibious and Maritime Prepositioning Ships: The Navy’s amphibious lift ships are organized into expeditionary strike groups, each consisting of one amphibious assault ship or helicopter carrier (LHA or LHD), one amphibious transport dock, and one dock landing ship (LSD), together with three surface combatants and an attack submarine. The Navy’s FY 2009 shipbuilding plan envisions reducing the number of expeditionary strike groups from the current 11 to 9 by 2020. To support that goal, a second new America class LHA-6 amphibious WHAT WOULD GENE DO? Rep. Gene Taylor (DMiss.), Chairman of the Seapower Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, has his own ideas about getting Navy shipbuilding back on track. See his comments at: www.marinelog.com/DOCS /NEWSMMIX/2009feb0005 1.html assault ship would be purchased (the first one was acquired in 2007). The plan also anticipates seven replacements for Wasp class LHD-1 amphibious assault ships, three of which would be purchased by 2026. It calls for 12 replacements for existing LSD-41 and LSD-49 ships, 6 of which would be purchased by 2026. In addition to the expeditionary strike groups, the Navy’s 2009 shipbuilding plan calls for the purchase of 11 new maritime prepositioning ships—part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future)—to forward deploy the equipment of one Marine expeditionary brigade. The Navy plans to buy a mix of different ship types to populate the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) squadron. Three existing ships transferred from the amphibious and existing maritime prepositioning forces would operate with the squadron. CBO projects that resources needed for new amphibious and maritime prepositioning ships would be $2.7 billion per year, on average, through 2026. If historical cost growth was included, required resources would average $2.8 billion per year. Aircraft Carriers: The FY 2009 shipbuilding plan projected a future carrier force of at least 11 largedeck ships, all of which eventually would be nuclear powered. The Navy ordered the first of its new class of carriers, the CVN-21, in 2008. Under 20 MARINE LOG MARCH 2009 www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2009feb00051.html http://www.smithberger.com http://www.smithberger.com http://www.marinelog.com
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