Led by Chairman Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Ranking Member Joe Courtney (D-CT), the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower & Projection Forces today released their proposals for the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Subcommittee will meet at 12:30 PM on Thursday, June 22th, in Rayburn 2118. The markup will be live streamed on the Committee's website. The Subcommittee's mark is available here.
The Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee's proposal:
Establishes the policy of the United States to have available not fewer than 355 battle force ships;
Authorizes Multiyear procurement authority for 15 Arleigh Burke-class Destroyers for the next five years at a rate of three destroyers a year;
Authorizes Multiyear procurement authority for 13 Virginia-class Attack Submarines for the next five years at a minimum rate of two submarines per year and provides the Navy advanced procurement authority to support a third submarine in 2020, 2022 and 2023;
Prohibits the retirement of additional Ticonderoga-class cruisers;
Directs the Department of Defense to obtain 12 aircraft carriers by the end of fiscal year 2023;
Strikes the requirement to complete shock trials on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78);
Provides expanded authority to more efficiently procure new Ford-class aircraft carriers and overhaul existing Nimitz-class aircraft carriers;
Expands the authority of the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund that would authorize a more efficient procurement of common components associated with the nuclear enterprise;
Restricts major overhauls and repairs of U.S. naval vessels in foreign shipyards;
Prohibits the retirement of mine countermeasure ships until Navy is able to deploy the Littoral Combat Ship mine warfare capability;
Reinstates the requirement to preserve certain C-5 aircraft for future recall to active service;
Prohibits contracting for the re-host of Compass Call mission systems until the acquisition strategy is certified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense;
