The Aircraft Carrier Isn’t Going Anywhere…Unless Navy Budgets Sink the Supply Chain

The aircraft carrier has been a major component of American military power for more than 80 years, even as the threat environment has evolved. This is because of the U.S. Navy’s ability to update carrier designs, incorporate new technologies into the carrier air wing, and alter tactics for the carrier strike group.  Despite growing threats, aircraft carriers have many ways to break up the Chinese long-range kill chain and assert power in the contested space of the Western Pacific.

With the new Ford-class, carrier strike groups will remain a force for China to reckon with for the foreseeable future.

Unless a different threat comes along: the Navy’s own budget.  In its current budget proposal, the Navy asked to delay the construction schedule of the next Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier CVN-82, by about two years, until 2030. 

This decision, if not reversed by the Department of Defense or Congress, will fundamentally undermine the stability of the nuclear aircraft carrier industrial base. 

The Navy’s original plan was to buy CVN 82 in fiscal year 2028 with a lump sum.  Before that, the Navy needs to invest money to get started on advance procurement of certain long-lead items, beginning with next year’s budget.  This was the tipping point.  According to Ron O’Rourke of the Congressional Research Service, the Navy said it could not pay for the approximately $550 million in advanced procurement needed for the new aircraft carrier due to fiscal limits imposed on the Navy’s topline budget. 

In other words, because money is tight now, the Navy is trying to delay the whole aircraft carrier. 

Military shipbuilding is a complex, time-consuming and costly endeavor. It involves an extensive supply chain. Aircraft carriers are built and maintained with parts built by over 2,000 businesses spread out across 44 states.

Many components are unique, and their construction requires specialized tooling and equipment, significant lead times, and advanced funding. Moreover, it also requires an extremely qualified workforce. In many instances, only a handful of people are trained to perform critical tasks.

Holding back on CVN 82 will hit the advanced procurement suppliers first. 

A survey by the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition found the proposed delay in CVN 82 might cause nearly half of those suppliers “to have stopped continuous production (i.e. ‘go cold’) for their respective CVN material/equipment” by 2028.  A skilled labor force for Navy shipbuilding could be lost, further increasing costs for future aircraft carriers if they can be built at all.

This is not the way to keep ahead of China.  The discussion should be about buying two aircraft carriers at a time to save money, not about delays that are ruinous to America’s industrial base.

Building Ford-class CVNs is the most challenging of all shipbuilding programs.  The next Pentagon budget is still under discussion until Dec. 20.  Congress has a chance to stop this mistake and restore funding for CVN 82.