Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, has said the U.S. Navy is considering various strategies to reach its goal of deploying 355 ships, Federal News Network reported Friday.
Moore unveiled in an interview that the service seeks to extend the service life of its existing vessels as it will not meet its target of a 355-ship fleet if it will solely focus on manufacturing new models.
“Our initial estimate was that it would take until about 2052 if you were just going to build new ships, and increase the pace that you could build them,†he said.
The Navy is reviewing its fleet of destroyer, amphibious assault and littoral combat ships to see which ones can still be used while new vessels are being built.
In a Federal Drive with Tom Temin discussion, Moore explained that NAVSEA is also considering procuring foreign designs and simultaneously ordering two aircraft carriers to shrink the shipbuilding timeline from six or seven years to four.
The Navy’s past experience of purchasing two vessels at the same time resulted to the delivery of five carriers within 17 years.
