Surface Ship Shortfall

摘要

The U.S. Navy's CG 47 Ticonderoga-class cruisers and DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers serve as the backbone of the surface fleet and provide the nation with power projection and a global presence, which is why alarm is growing in Congress over the Navy's proposed 30-year shipbuilding plan that would leave a large shortfall in the coming decades. In September, the Senate Appropriations Committee raised concerns in its markup of the fiscal 2012 defense appropriations bill about the Navy's current path based on thesubmitted fiscal 2012 30-year shipbuilding plan, which would result in the service's destroyers and cruisers dwindling in number, particularly in the 2030s.