Page 27: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1988)
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FULL FUNDING FOR TWO NEW CARRIERS GIVES NAVY 46% INCREASE FOR SHIPBUILDING
An Update On
Navy Spending For Ships, Equipment
And Maintenance in FY 1988
By Dr. James R. McCaul, President
International Maritime Associates, Inc.
There were some nice surprises in the defense budget approved by the
Congress late last December. The main surprise was the approval of full funding for two new aircraft car- riers. This action sets the scene for continued heavy spending on ships and equipment through the 1990s.
Changes in FY '88
Overall Procurement Budgets % Change
Air Force —15
Army —7
Navy +
The overall Navy budget increase of 7 percent for procurement is the result of an increase of 46 percent for ships alone—an additional $5 billion for ships.
The implications of this develop- ment are enormous for suppliers of equipment and services to the new aircraft carriers as well as support vessels.
SHIPBUILDING &
CONVERSION
The Congress approved a major increase in the Navy shipbuilding budget for FY 1988. The Navy re- quested $11.1 billion to build or con- vert 20 ships. The Congress appro- priated $16.1 billion for 19 ships.
This $5 billion (46 percent) in- crease—in a period of growing bud- get pressures—shows the Navy spending for new ships continues to be accorded high priority.
A breakdown of the FY 1988 bud- get request for shipbuilding and the final funding approvals is shown in
Exhibit 1.
Aircraft Carriers (CVN-74 and 75)
In a show of strong support for naval aviation, the Congress pro- vided full funding for two new air- craft carriers in the FY1988 con- tinuing appropriations bill. DOD had asked for $644 million to fund long lead nuclear component pur- chases for these two ships starting in
FY 1988. Congressional conferees in late December agreed to appro- priate $6.3 billion—virtually assur- ing the two carriers will not be can- celled at a later date. One of the car- riers is to be named the USS John
C. Stennis, in recognition of the (continued)
February, 1988 29
