(Photo : US Navy) USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.


Faced with a wave of new money from a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Congress, the U.S. Navy is now talking about having a fleet of 355 warships instead of the 308 it originally envisioned.



The navy's new Force Structure Assessment (FSA) sees the inclusion of one more aircraft carrier, 16 more large surface combatants and 18 more attack submarines over the existing FSA. The new FSA also calls for 4 more amphibious warfare ships, 3 more expeditionary support bases and five more support ships.



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It also provides for 52 small surface combatants, which include littoral combat ships and the new frigates that wills succeed them, in contrast to the 40 ships approved by the outgoing Obama administration.



The addition of one more nuclear powered supercarrier to the existing fleet of 11 Nimitz-class carriers will mean adding another air wing. Each wing normally consists of 48 strike fighters (Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets) plus electronic warfare and early warning aircraft.



The proposed fleet expansion is aimed at deterring Russia and China, whose naval strength has increased dramatically over the past years. Russia, however, faces a severe cash crunch that's limiting its ambitious rearmament plans.



Outgoing Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said "the 2016 FSA was not constrained by budget control act funding levels," an apparent reference to the Republican-controlled Congress easing politically-motivated restrictions on defense spending.



Navy sources said the new FSA was revised upward after the election of Donald Trump. Republicans can be expected to remove the budgetary restraints that have forced all the armed forces services to make unwanted cuts.



The Navy, however, doesn't expect even the new fleet goals to meet its needs. To do so would require the navy "to double its current annual budget, which is essentially unrealistic in both current and expected future fiscal environments," said Mabus.



He noted the new navy FSA is "better aligned with resources available."




TagsU.S. Navy, Force Structure Assessment, Republican-controlled Congress, donald trump, china, Russia, Ray Mabus