Navy Weapons Systems Divestments
Senate Subcommittee on Defense
July 21st, 2021
Witnesses:
- Vice Admiral James Kilby – Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities
- Vice Admiral Randy Crites – Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources
- Lieutenant General David S. Nahom – Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs U.S. Air Force
The Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Defense met on July 21st to understand the military divestments being done by the Navy and Air Force. The United States Military is currently divesting from $2.8 billion in legacy systems as shown before Congress and in the Fiscal Year (FY) 22 budget requests. The Navy in particular is divesting $1.26 billion, the main purpose of this divestment is to retire vulnerable systems. Of the $1.26 billion, $930 million is a divestment of ships.
Vice Admiral Kilby stated that the Navy’s FY22 budget maximizes the Navy’s contribution to a joint force. Vice Admiral Crites described that the overall funding of the Navy has remained flat when compared to inflation, with costs in labor and materials rising with inflation.
VADM Kilby discussed to the Subcommittee that the divestments allow for wargaming and increased intel on adversary forces that will influence new technology. New and proven technologies create a more capable force and confidence that such a force will succeed when in combat with an adversary. VADM Kilby stated that fleet capability is just as, if not more, important as fleet size. Divesting from LCS 7 and 9 are affordability decisions and cost avoidance for lethality and survivability upgrades that have not yet been implemented. Divestment from the LCS 7 and 9 will allow for investment opportunities for advancement.
The cruisers were repeatedly stated to be at the end of their service life, and the divestment from those systems is not an affordability issue, but a capability one. Senator Murkowski (R-AK) asked how the arctic and polar security will be focused on given the divestments. VADM Kilby stated that the DDG-X platform is critical and wargaming analyses will influence design. VADM Crites discussed how the submarine presence will be important, but the National Defense Strategy will influence the Navy’s work in the arctic region. Both Vice Admirals discussed how working with the Coast Guard will be critical for polar security.
For a recording of the full subcommittee hearing, please use the following link.