Budget restricts size and scope of future US Navy programmes

摘要

On February 7th 2005, Congress received the White House's budget request for the Defense Department and the news for the US Navy was not good. Operations in Iraq as well as major domestic reform measures mean there will be cuts of up to US$36 billion by 2011 and the US Navy cannot escape as its strength slips to less than 290 ships, its pre-First World War size. While key programmes are starting during the next couple of years, in the long term they begin to slip as funding is cut from 2006 onwards. The FY 2006 programme consists of only four ships and it was anticipated that eight would be built in FY 2007, nine in FY 2008, 17 in FY 2009, 15 in FY2010and 13 in FY 13, for a total of 66 vessels. All of these programmes are subject to Congressional adjustment.