U.S. leaders are being urged to invest at least **$40 billion** annually to grow and maintain the nation’s fleet of battle force ships. This recommendation comes from the nonprofit **Navy League**, which unveiled a policy statement on **Thursday** aimed at preparing for long-term and large-scale wars.
The Navy League’s statement calls on Congress to increase funding for a Navy plan to revitalize public shipyards, enhance the **Coast Guard’s fleet** of polar icebreakers, and allocate more resources for munitions to prepare for a “possible great power conflict.” The nonprofit, which supports the **U.S. Navy**, **Marine Corps**, **Coast Guard**, and **Merchant Marine**, regularly releases policy statements every other year to assist lawmakers in maritime power decisions.
Given existing challenges, including territorial disputes in the **South China Sea**, conflicts with **Iran-backed Houthi rebels** in the Red Sea, and the escalating **NATO-Russia contest** in the **Baltic Sea**, the Navy League is focusing its strategies for **2025 and 2026** on increasing fleet size and shipbuilding industry capacity. Retired Rear Adm. **Sinclair Harris**, the Navy League’s national vice president, emphasized the essential role of American maritime strength for global security.
The nonprofit acknowledges that gaining support from Congress for increased maritime investment will be challenging. **Jonathan Kaskin**, Navy League’s chair of Merchant Marine affairs, noted that the policy statement aims to provide lawmakers with the necessary background to secure additional resources amid a tough fiscal environment.
The recommended annual investment of **$40 billion** aligns with the **Navy’s** newest proposal to Congress, projecting a $40.1 billion expenditure on shipbuilding each year through **2054**, totaling over **$1 trillion**, as per analysis from the **Congressional Budget Office (CBO)**. The Navy aims to grow its fleet from the current **295 battle force ships** to **381** despite projected declines to **283** ships by **2027**, reflecting the retirement of 13 ships compared to new commissions.
The CBO has described the financial demands of the shipbuilding plan as high, noting that funding levels have recently reached peaks not seen since the era of former President **Ronald Reagan**, who championed a **600-ship Navy** in the **1980s**. However, achieving these plans would require a larger shipbuilding workforce, as the industry faces challenges such as cost overruns and labor shortages, resulting in significant production delays.
To address these issues, the Navy League plans to advocate for the **SHIPS for America Act**, a bipartisan bill introduced at the end of the last congressional session. This legislation aims to establish various improvements, including the creation of a maritime security adviser position in the White House, a trust fund financed by the maritime industry, and a recruitment drive to strengthen the shipbuilding workforce.
