Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2014)

28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • JUNE 2014

THE 2014 YEARBOOK: NAVY SHIPBUILDING

N avies and Coast

Guards everywhere face budgetary pres- sure, even in the U.S. which has the largest

Navy in the world.

The balance between desire for capacity and capability and pressure for afford- ability has never been more acute with the precarious budgetary issues pre- sented by declining defense budgets, se- questration, continuing resolutions and government shutdowns. Even so, there are ongoing major construction efforts to include large nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines, amphibious ships, destroy- ers and smaller combatants, albeit with compromises in quality, quantity and ca- pability.

To prepare the Navy’s program within the ? scal constraints, Chief of Naval

Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert set the following six priorities. “Number one is the sea-based strategic deterrence.

Number two, forward presence. Three, the capability and the capacity to win decisively. Number four, the readiness to do that. Number ? ve, to sustain our asymmetric capabilities and our techno- logical edge. And number six, to sustain a relevant industrial base. Using these priorities, we build a balanced portfolio of capabilities within the ? scal guid-

U.S. Navy

Ship construction programs move ahead, but it’s not smooth sailing.

By Edward Lundquist

The littoral combat ship Pre-Commis- sioning Unit (PCU) Coronado (LCS 4) is rolled-out at the Austal USA assem- bly bay. Coronado is scheduled to be christened Jan. 14, 2012 and will un- dergo sea trials later this year. (U.S. Navy photo cour tesy Austal USA/Released)

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