Sec. 121. Aircraft carriers
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Congress finds the following: Aircraft carriers are an essential element of the Navy’s core missions of forward presence, sea control, ensuring safe sea lanes, and power projection, and provide the flexibility and versatility necessary for the execution of a wide range of additional missions. Forward airpower is integral to the security and joint forces operations of the United States. Carriers play a central role in delivering forward airpower from sovereign territory of the United States in both permissive and nonpermissive environments.
Aircraft carriers provide the Nation the ability to rapidly and decisively respond to national threats, to conduct worldwide, on-station diplomacy, and to deter threats to allies, partners, and friends of the United States. Since the end of the cold war, aircraft carrier deployments have increased while the aircraft carrier force structure has declined. Due to the increased array of complex threats across the globe, the Navy’s aircraft carriers are operating at maximum capacity, increasing deployment lengths and decreasing maintenance periods in order to meet operational requirements.
To meet global peacetime and wartime requirements, the Navy has indicated a requirement to maintain two aircraft carriers deployed overseas and to have three additional aircraft carriers capable of deploying within 90 days. However, the Navy has indicated that the existing aircraft carrier force structure cannot support these military requirements. Despite the requirement to maintain an aircraft carrier strike group in both the United States Central Command and the United States Pacific Command, the Navy has been unable to generate sufficient capacity to support combatant commanders and has developed significant carrier gaps in these critical areas.
The continued use of a diminished aircraft carrier force structure has resulted in extensive maintenance availabilities which typically exceed program costs and increase time in shipyards. These expansive maintenance availabilities exacerbate existing carrier gaps. Because of maintenance overhaul extensions, the Navy is truncating basic aircraft carrier training to expedite the deployment of available aircraft carriers. Limiting aircraft carrier training decreases operational capabilities and increases risks to sailors.
Despite the objections of the Navy, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics directed the Navy on August 7, 2015, to perform shock trials on the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford (CVN–78). The Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy indicated that this action could delay the introduction of the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford (CVN–78) to the fleet by up to two years, exacerbating existing carrier gaps. The Navy has adopted a two-phase acquisition strategy for the U.S.S.
John F. Kennedy (CVN–79), an action that will delay the introduction of this aircraft carrier by up to two years, exacerbating existing carrier gaps. Developing an alternative design to the Ford class aircraft carrier is not cost beneficial. A smaller design is projected to incur significant design and engineering cost while significantly reducing magazine size, carrier air wing size, sortie rate, and on-station effectiveness among other vital factors as compared to the Ford class.
Furthermore, a new design will delay the introduction of future aircraft carriers, exacerbating existing carrier gaps and threatening the national security of the United States. The 2016 Navy Force Structure Assessment states A minimum of 12 aircraft carriers are required to meet the increased warfighting response requirements of the Defense Planning Guidance Defeat/Deny force sizing direction. Furthermore, a new National Defense Strategy is being prepared that will assess the defeat/deny force sizing direction and may increase the force structure associated with aircraft carriers.
It is the sense of Congress that— the United States should expedite delivery of 12 aircraft carriers; an aircraft carrier should be authorized every three years; shock trials should be conducted on the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CVN–79), as initially proposed by the Navy; construction for the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CVN–79) should be accomplished in a single phase; and the United States should continue the Ford class design for the aircraft carrier designated CVN–81. Section 5062(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking 11 operational aircraft carriers and inserting 12 operational aircraft carriers .
The amendment made by paragraph
(1)shall take effect on September 30, 2023. Section 128 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 ( Public Law 114–92 ; 129 Stat. 751) is amended— by striking subsections
(a)and (b); and by redesignating subsections
(c)and
(d)as subsections
(a)and (b), respectively. The Secretary of the Navy may procure materiel and equipment in support of the construction of the Ford class aircraft carriers designated CVN–81 and CVN–82 in economic order quantities when cost savings are achievable. Any contract entered into under subparagraph
(A)shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose, and that total liability to the Government for termination of any contract entered into shall be limited to the total amount of funding obligated at time of termination. The Secretary of the Navy may carry out the nuclear refueling and complex overhaul of each of the following Nimitz class aircraft carriers: U.S.S. John C. Stennis (CVN–74). U.S.S. Harry S. Truman (CVN–75). U.S.S. Ronald Reagan (CVN–76). U.S.S. George H.W. Bush (CVN–77). With respect to any contract entered into under subparagraph
(A)for the nuclear refueling and complex overhaul of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier, the Secretary may use incremental funding for a period not to exceed six years after advance procurement funds for such nuclear refueling and complex overhaul effort are first obligated. Any contract entered into under subparagraph
(A)shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2018 is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose for that later fiscal year.
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