American Shipbuilding Association

America's Navy, The Overlooked Workhorse
of National Security

As the war against terrorism began in land-locked Afghanistan, the U.S. Navy was already on the scene to lead America’s war efforts. In the first days of the conflict, the U.S. Navy fired over 90 Tomahawk cruise missiles from submarines and surface combatants in the Arabian Sea to disable the Taliban’s air defenses. The U.S. Navy also executed the majority of American air strikes in the land war, and continues to do so today. Aircraft carrier based fighter and strike aircraft have been launching 60 to 80 missions a day, for more than 4,000 missions since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom -- dropping nearly 5,000 bombs on targets.

In total, more than 50 U.S. Navy ships have participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, including five aircraft carriers and two large deck amphibious assault ships, with a third amphibious assault ship now enroute to the Arabian Sea. Of the approximately 60,000 U.S. military personnel deployed to the Central Command region, more than half are sailors and Marines stationed aboard ships or in Afghanistan. Missiles, aircraft, special operations forces and Marines have all been launched and sustained from aircraft carriers, surface ships, and submarines of the U.S. Navy. But for these mobile and lethal bases, free to operate around the globe without the permission of a foreign government, the United States would NOT have been able to conduct the war in Afghanistan.  If fact, Diego Garcia, a joint U.S. and British base in the Indian Ocean, is the closest friendly base, which is approximately 3,000 miles south of Afghanistan.

Disturbingly, little notice has been given to how perilously thin the U.S. fleet is stretched. With so many carrier battle groups diverted to Afghanistan, critical places around the world, such as the Straits of Taiwan, the Yellow Sea, and Israel’s coast, are without the presence of American naval power to deter conflict and aggression. These gaps in American presence are the direct result of a fleet that has been allowed to shrink to an inadequate size to meet our nation’s security strategy.

Victory and peace do come through strength, and naval strength is based upon the number of ships in the fleet. Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, recently emphasized this point when he stated that, “Quantity has a quality all its own. Numbers count in ensuring our Navy is prepared and positioned to carry out the National Security Strategy …Thus, a Navy smaller than today's is an invitation to greater operational risk and decreased international stability.” Yet, if the Navy is to maintain even a bare bones fleet of 300-ships, it must increase the annual shipbuilding rate to 12-ships a year, and begin rebuilding the fleet to compensate for the last nine years of neglect. Otherwise, the United States will never again have a 300-ship fleet, which is half the size it was only 15 years ago.

Unfortunately, the Navy’s future years shipbuilding plans reveal the Department’s procurement and modernization problems are getting worse. The Navy’s Future Year Defense Plan (FYDP) proposes only five (5) ships in FY2003, five (5) ships in FY2004, seven (7) ships in FY2005, eight (8) ships in FY2006, and finally reaching ten (10) ships in FY2007. This proposed FYDP expands the current 40-ship shortfall to 56-ships by 2007.  In other words, these budgets will plunge the fleet to a force of 244-ships as obsolete ships are decommissioned. The failure of the Navy and the Department of Defense to adequately budget the numbers of ships needed annually to meet the nation’s security requirements is placing the safety of all Americans at greater risk.

Appropriations Conferees Act on
Department of Defense Bill

On December 20, 2001, the House and Senate passed H.R. 3338, the Department of Defense Appropriation’s Act for FY2002. The President signed the bill into law on January 10, 2002. Unfortunately, the law marks the ninth consecutive year that the Navy’s Shipbuilding and Conversion account has provided, on average, only 6-ships a year -- Half the build rate of 12-ships a year now necessary to sustain the minimum force level of 300-ships identified as the baseline in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review.

On the positive side, the conferees did delete section 8151 from the House passed bill, which would have prohibited the Navy and the Department of Defense from recommending Advanced Appropriations as a means to budget for naval ships in future budget submissions to Congress. The conferees also included $729 million to cover prior year shipbuilding bills for four Navy programs: CVN 76, LPD-17, the Virginia class submarine, and submarine refuelings.   Nevertheless, this is $71 million below the President’s budget request of $800 million.

Additionally, the conferees appropriated $25 million in the National Defense Sealift Fund for the FastShip project, as an introduction of next-generation high-speed sealift ships to support the Navy's global military sealift requirements. The conferees directed the Navy to work with other federal agencies using interagency agreements, economy act procedures, or other mechanisms to provide loan guarantees to the company to meet this objective. 

The law provides new construction funding for five and 1/7th ships, comprised of one (1) Virginia class submarine, three (3) DDG-51 Aleigh Burke class destroyers, one (1) T-AKE Lewis & Clark combat logistics support ship, and an increment of funding for an LHD-8 amphibious assault ship.  Additionally, the law appropriates $155 million for advance procurement for the San Antonio-class amphibious ships, $138.9 million for advance procurement for CVN (X), and $365.4 million for submarine conversion of four (4) Trident nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) into Tomahawk cruise missile submarines (SSGN).  The bill also provides $75 million to accelerate the cruiser conversion program, while reducing the funding for DD (X) by $125 million.

Russia Makes Rebuilding Navy A Priority

Russia is showing a renewed will to emerge once again as an important naval power, making the modernization of its Navy a priority after a decade of neglect. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stated at a new shipbuilding facility opening, “The modernization program of the Russian Navy is currently one of the most important tasks of the state.” For years, successive Russian governments have left its Navy to rot in port, with few new ships being built. Now the Russian government is directing resources into ship construction for its first newly designed warship since the Soviet collapse a decade ago.   When is the United States going to reverse its decade of naval neglect?

Russia Helps Build China's Navy

On January 9, 2002, Russia announced that it had signed an arms contract to build two new destroyers for the Chinese Navy at a cost of $1.4 billion. The ships will be delivered to the Chinese by 2006 and will be equipped with up-to-date missiles, torpedoes, radar, and anti-submarine systems, as well as new anti-ship supersonic missiles. The vessels, able to reach 34 knots, will add formidable power to the Chinese Navy.

U.S. Maritime Administrator Calls for
Maritime Industry to "Work Together"

Captain William Schubert, in his first public address as the new Maritime Administrator, called upon the Maritime industry to recognize that all segments – U.S. labor, U.S.-owners, and U.S. shipyards – are interconnected and interdependent upon one another. “We in the [maritime] industry can either worry about our petty fights, … or we can worry about our own survival.”

While recognizing several policy disagreements among the different industry sectors, Captain Schubert warned that, “We cannot afford to have a fractious maritime community at the expense of a U.S. maritime presence throughout the nation and world. … An unproductive cycle of attacking one group after another in order to look out for one’s self-interest simply cannot exist in this new environment. Self destructive behavior within the industry can easily spell the end.” Captain Schubert went on to say, “I want to help [the maritime industry] succeed in a way that will quiet all the naysayers out there.”

Outlining some of the important challenges facing the maritime community, Captain Schubert denounced the decline of the U.S-flagged fleet and pledged to work diligently with industry and labor to encourage new tonnage to enter the commercial market. He also pledged to work toward a consensus on the reauthorization of the Maritime Security Program.

Mr. Fricks joined Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) in 1966 in the Industrial Engineering Department, and held progressively responsible management positions over his 35-year career.  Mr. Fricks was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Newport News in November 1995, and elected Chairman in January 1997. Mr. Fricks also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Shipbuilding Association. Mr. Fricks ran NNS from the company’s spin-off from Tenneco and retired upon completing the sale of NNS to Northrop Grumman for $2.6 billion, which includes the assumption of $500 million of Newport News Shipbuilding debt.  Mr. Tom Schievelbein, previously NNS’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been named President of Northrop Grumman’s Newport News Shipbuilding business sector.

Tom Kitchen Retires from Avondale Industries

On January 14, 2002, Mr. Tom Kitchen retired as President of Avondale Industries after a 24-year career with the company. Mr. Kitchen joined Avondale in 1977 as assistant controller and held several increasingly responsible management positions culminating in 1999 when he became President of Avondale Industries. Northrop Grumman announced that Rear Admiral George R. Yount, USN (Ret.), would succeed Mr. Kitchen as Vice President of Avondale Industries for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems sector. Previously, RADM Yount served 33 years in the United States Navy.

Ingalls Shipbuilding Awarded $369.8 Million for
Construction of DDG-102

On December 21, 2001, Ingalls Shipbuilding was awarded a $369.8 million contract for an additional DDG-51 Class Aegis guided missile destroyer for the United States Navy. The contract represents funding for the FY2002 ship, DDG-102, included in a multi-year contract awarded to Ingalls in March 1998. Ingalls has been awarded contracts to build 25 Aegis destroyers, with 15 ships having been delivered. Aegis destroyers are equipped to conduct a variety of missions, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection.

Newport News Awarded $191 Million Contract for
Extended Drydock and Repair Work

U.S. Navy has awarded NNS a $191 million contract for an Extended Drydock Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Work during the EDSRA will include routine dry dock work, tank blasting and coating, hull preservation, propulsion and ship system repairs and limited enhancements to various hull, mechanical and electrical systems. USS Enterprise was launched at NNS in 1960 and was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to join the U.S. Navy's fleet. The ship and its battle group were most recently deployed in the Middle East as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.