Lectures of Opportunity: "Building a Fleet in an Era of Fiscal Constraint"

Building a Fleet in an Era of Fiscal Constraint

The U.S. Navy believes that the challenge to U.S. allies and interests in the Pacific posed by a rapidly growing Chinese navy and an increasingly sophisticated battle network requires a larger, more distributed fleet. At the same time, the demands on the federal budget and the defense budget in particular make it unlikely that the Navy would receive the additional $30 billion to $40 billion more per year the service will need to build a much larger fleet. In the view of many defense analysts, the increasing technological sophistication and targeting capabilities of China’s military make it imperative that the U.S. Navy distribute its firepower among a larger number of smaller and less expensive ships and unmanned systems, rather than a smaller number of more capable but much more expensive platforms. This study will look at ways to do that within an overall budget close to today’s levels.

About this Lecture

Lectures of Opportunity offers U.S. Naval War College (NWC) students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn more about national and international socio-political subjects that may be of relevance to the NWC community.