Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
The Trump administration recently announced a new long-term shipbuilding plan that will boost the Navy’s fleet as it confronts a rising China in the South China Sea.
According to Bloomberg, citing a senior admin official, the Navy’s shipbuilding budget for fiscal 2022 would increase by 33% to $27 billion over this fiscal year. By 2023, it would increase to $28.5 billion, reaching $38.5 billion in fiscal 2026.
The ambitious plan to rebuild the Navy after decades of cuts to shipbuilding comes as the fleet has been stripped down to a size barely larger than it was nearly a century ago.
Trump has prioritized expanding the fleet of 275 ships to 355 vessels within a decade. The plan is part of a 30-year shipbuilding program that will expand the fleet to 500 by 2045.
“Since taking office, President Trump has promised to increase the size of our naval fleet to 355 battleships, re-establish the United States as the global power at sea to continue to secure our country while making it more prosperous,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said in a statement.
Vought continued: “Our updated 30-year shipbuilding plan is a credible, affordable road map for achieving maritime supremacy—all while tightening our belts—and sending a strong message to our adversaries like China.”
The shipbuilding plan also includes a list of 48 vessels set to be decommissioned or placed out of service during the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Planned retirements include the “first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the first two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, and the first Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship,” said Seapower Magazine, adding that “11 Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers and 11 Los Angeles-class attack submarines” will be retired as well.
Here’s the full list of retirements between 2022-2026:
In 2022:
- Six Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: San Jacinto (CG 56), Hue City (CG 66), Anzio (CG 68) Vella Gulf (CG 72) and Port Royal (CG 73).
- One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Whidbey Island (LSD 41).
- Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Providence (SSN 719) and Oklahoma City (SSN 723).
- One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Apache (T-ATF 172).
In 2023:
- Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Mobile Bay (CG 53).
- Four Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Germantown (LSD 42), Gunston Hall (LSD 44), and Ashland (LSD 48).
- One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Carter Hall (LSD 50).
- Two Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oilers will be disposed: John Lenthall (T-AO 189).
- One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Catawba (T-ATF 168).
- One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Grasp (T-ARS 51)
In 2024:
- Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Antietam (CG 54) and Shiloh (CG 67).
- One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Rushmore (LSD 47).
- Two Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and Pearl Harbor (LSD 52).
- Four Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Chicago (SSN 721), Key West (SSN 722) San Juan (SSN 751) and Topeka (SSN 754).
- Four Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships will be disposed: Sentry (MCM 3), Devastator (MCM 6), Gladiator (MCM 11) and Dextrous (MCM 13).
- One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Salvor (T-ARS 52).
In 2025:
- One Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will be recycled: Nimitz (CVN 68).
- One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Oak Hill (LSD 51).
- Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Helena (SSN 725) and Pasadena (SSN 752).
- One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188)
In 2026:
- One Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser will be placed in reserve: Chancellorsville (CG 62).
- One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Comstock (LSD 45).
- Two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines will be recycled: Ohio (SSGN 726) and Florida (SSGN 728).
- Three Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Newport News (SSN 750), Scranton (SSN 756) and Alexandria (SSN 757).
- One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Pecos (T-AO 197).
- One Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship: Victorious (T-AGOS 19).
So what is the Navy’s strategy here? Is the US preparing for a naval and air clash with China in the South China Sea, or somewhere in the Pacific?
Frankly, the US is a deadbroke deadbeat and will lose the fiscal war with China even as the PRC is not the USSR which was not very capitalism savvy. The Chinese are masters of trade and can outspend the bankrupt US economy in spades. The US military overstretch has already caused its decline and the Chinese will apply the death of a thousand cuts.
The delusional freaks in Washington, DC are at it again. Pretty tough talk by Mr. Vought of the OMB calling for billions of dollars for new ships. Unfortunately the Navy will probably get these new ships. This insanity is only possible in a degenerate, mentally sick, evil, despicable, dying country that has a national debt of more than $26 TRILLION, consumer debt of more than $14.3 TRILLION, rotting infrastructure, horrible public schools, a crashing economy, massive unemployment, increased hunger and poverty and not even a national healthcare system during a pandemic. The party is coming to a crashing end you maniacal fools. As they say in the ghetto: “you just can’t fix stupid.”
The lost wars for Zionism have already cost the deadbeat Americans over $15 trillion and counting, Chinese economy just grew by 10% while US declined by 4.7% officially (much larger in real terms) and US unemployment is now chronic. That is the reason the Anglo-Zionists are pushing a delusional Sino-Indian war, and that is not going to happen either.
More targets for supersonic and hypersonic missiles. American obsession to build ships without proper offensive weaponry is a delusion that will manifest if shooting starts
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2AFRjTPQE
The US Navy in its current form will last as long as they create new ways of printing money out of thin air and enough people believe in the Ponzi scheme that is the US dollar. When the reset comes, the many white elephants they created will sit rusting to the bottoms in the harbor designed to be showpieces for the Empire of Chaos and Exceptionalism.
Hubris is arrogance before the gods and inevitably invites its Day of Reckoning.
Bloomberg are a packa fascist fagglets,whoms concern is their dying economies exhausted,
Usa will go down as a has been,just like the brits whom were supreme in the wood aged era,
time moves on in the metal era,however there are others with far more advanced technologys
here on in,The real test for usa is to see if they can defend their homeland from a packa limp wristed half bread kweers,lame beaurocracy and other forms of weakest form of human beings,so lets see if usa can put the money where their mouth is,and defend the constitution with heart and soul,but if they shan’t what kind of hope will they ever have against the far more robust and dynamic entity?
Truth time usa,will you stand and deliver in your our back yard,or bend over and get beat in shame?