355-ship fleet not possible with the Navy’s current budget, top admiral says

 via Stripes.com

The Navy cannot achieve its mandated 355-ship fleet with its current budget constraints, the service’s top officer told House lawmakers Thursday.

The fiscal year 2021 budget can support a fleet of no more than “300 to 305,” though Congress in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act required the Navy to achieve a 355-ship fleet “as soon as practicable,” Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, said during a budget hearing with the House Appropriations Committee subpanel on defense.

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Gilday said growing the fleet is necessary to address threats from strategic competitors such as China, which has the world’s largest navy with at least 350 ships, according to a Defense Department report issued in September on China’s military power.

“I see a future where it’s going to be more difficult for us to maintain that kind of forward presence we know we need … to compete and be in a position to deter both China and Russia,” Gilday told lawmakers.

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