In the past year, two distinct U.S. navies have emerged. One, operating in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is engaged in full-time warfare, expending hundreds of missiles and conducting thousands of combat flight hours to protect the fleet, allies, and commercial shipping from Iranian-backed Houthi missile and drone attacks. The second operates across the vast Indo-Pacific region and is rapidly modernizing, rearming, training, and planning for a potential fight with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
Critical to the success of each navy is a defense industrial base still struggling to shed a post–Cold War lethargy during which weapons production stretched across decades and hundreds of companies exited the marketplace. Shipbuilding for all types of naval vessels remains a stubbornly slow business, as ship and submarine builders compete for a limited pool of workers who have many employment options. New types of companies are joining the defense acquisition process, many of them focused on using artificial intelligence and other information-related technologies to speed acquisition
in a bid to jumpstart production.
The Navy in 2024 waged high-end naval warfighting at a tempo not witnessed since World War II. The Navy also successfully used several new weapon systems for the first time in combat against missiles and unmanned systems/robotic and autonomous systems (UxS/RAS) while incurring no casualties.1 The service also is rushing to reinvigorate the fleet with new weapons, major modernizations, unmanned systems, and major investments in shipbuilding for the largest naval build up since the 1980s.
Red Sea Combat
Throughout 2024, the Navy engaged in operations at sea, in the air, and ashore that cannot be easily compared with anything since World War II. Following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Navy deployed ships in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Oman, and North Arabian Sea to prevent and counter Houthi attacks on shipping and to assist Israel in intercepting Iranian-launched ballistic missiles. In these high-intensity operations, the Navy’s ships and aircraft have countered unmanned surface vessels (USVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles while protecting commercial shipping. As an indication of the intensity and number of engagements, naval aviators now display symbols below their cockpits representing the number of those weapon systems downed in near-daily air-to-air actions.2
U.S. warships and aircraft have defeated many Houthi attacks with no loss of life. These engagements include: a drone attack on the USS Laboon (DDG-58) on 6 January; 18 drones, two antiship cruise missiles, and an antiship ballistic missile intercepted by three Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Air Wing (CVW) F/A-18 Super Hornets and the USS Gravely (DDG-107), Mason (DDG-87), and Laboon; antiship cruise missiles fired at the Gravely on 24 and 30 January; eight one-way UAVs, drones, and antiship ballistic missiles fired at the USS Carney (DDG-64) on 26 and 31 January; drones and missiles fired at the USS Indianapolis (LCS-17), Spruance (DDG-111), and Stockdale (DDG-106) on 27 September; five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles fired at the Spruance and Stockdale on 12 November, and drones and antiship cruise missiles fired at the Stockdale and USS O’Kane (DDG-77) in two separate attacks 30 November and 1 December and 9–10 December.3
On 10 January, the same day the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution demanding the Houthis cease attacks on merchant vessels, the Houthis launched 18–24 unmanned drones and missiles on commercial vessels and warships in the Red Sea—their most significant attack to that point. In response, a U.S.-led coalition commenced Operation Poseidon Archer on 12 January with air and cruise-missile strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen.4 The Dwight D. Eisenhower and CVW-3 made history with the first combat use of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile from an F/A-18E Super Hornet to destroy air defenses and the first combat use of the Joint Standoff Weapon–C variant.5 The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and CVW-1 relieved the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and continued U.S. air strikes on Houthi targets for the remainder of the year.
On 19 October 2023, before Operation Prosperity Guardian and Operation Poseidon Archer, the Carney intercepted 15 drones and four cruise missiles launched at Israel by the Houthis in a 10-hour period.6 The continued Hamas-Israel war led to the use of SM-3 ballistic-missile interceptors for the first time to help intercept Iranian-launched ballistic missiles.7 The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Carney intercepted more than 80 out of approximately 200 UAVs and at least 6 of 100 or more ballistic missiles launched by Iran and Iranian proxy groups at Israel on 14 April 2024.8 Later, the USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) and USS Cole (DDG-67) fired a dozen interceptors at Iranian missiles launched at Israel on 1 October 2024.9
The cost of these engagements has been staggering. Analysts estimate the Navy expended close to $2 billion in ordnance in 2024, with the cost-exchange ratios decidedly leaning to the Houthis’ advantage.10 The Navy often uses multimillion-dollar Standard surface-to-air missiles to destroy armed drones that cost a few thousand dollars each. “Should we find a more cost-effective way of downing, say, an inexpensive drone? Absolutely. And we’re working towards that,” said Rear Admiral Fred Pyle, then–Director of Surface Warfare (OpNav N96) in May.11
Perhaps even more troubling than the cost-exchange ratios, the Navy’s missile and munitions inventories are somewhat finite. The hundreds of missiles used in Red Sea operations will take years to replace as defense firms struggle to boost their monthly outputs. The operations also reduced the munitions available to confront China in the near term if needed. As Naval War College professor James Holmes writes, “Weapons expended in the Red Sea are weapons not available in the primary theater, East Asia, and are not quickly replaced.”12
Finally, in the eastern Mediterranean, approximately 260 sailors from Naval Beach Group 1 participated in the U.S. effort to deliver U.N. relief supplies from the sea to Gaza via a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) temporary pier.13 Transporting and assembling the pier without putting U.S. personnel ashore was made possible by the support of Navy vessels including the USNS Roy P. Benavidez (T-AKR-306), 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008), and 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (T-AK-3010) and the Army’s USAV SP4 James A. Loux (LSV-6), Monterrey (LCU-2030), Matamoros (LCU-2026), and Wilson Wharf (LCU-2011).14 The sailors supported 500 Army soldiers from the 7th Transportation Brigade in delivering approximately 8,800 tons of aid in 20 days before high sea states forced U.S. forces to dismantle the pier.15
The combat experience Navy crews have gained from their intense deployments is helping the Navy refine education and training in surface warfare, integrated air-and-missile defense, and ballistic-missile defense.16 Further, the use of expensive weapons that require lengthy manufacturing and reloading at distant naval weapon stations is compelling planners to develop more cost-effective directed-energy weapon systems and the ability to reload vertical launch system missile tubes at sea.17
Meanwhile, in the Indo-Pacific
The Navy’s operational success in the Red and Mediterranean Seas has overshadowed, to some extent, its campaign to deter and contain PLAN activities across the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Fleet continues to expand its relationships through exercises and joint operations with regional allies, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. These activities have been supplemented by the expanding deployment of NATO-member and other partner naval forces to the Indo-Pacific.
For example, in 2024 the Navy held the first-ever bilateral multi–large deck event (MLDE) with the Italian Navy. This brought together Italy’s newest aircraft carrier, the Cavour, to operate with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. It was the first MLDE held in the region since 2022.18 The Navy’s submarine force also conducted its first Ice Camp exercise since 2022, in the Beaufort Sea above the Arctic Circle.19 The Marine Corps conducted an expeditionary advanced base operations exercise in Korea.20 This year’s multination Rim of the Pacific (RimPac) exercise included the largest-ever humanitarian-aid and disaster-relief exercise and included five ships, five landing craft, five aircraft, multiple land forces, and more than 2,500 participants from eight countries.21
Not to be overshadowed by RimPac’s 29th iteration, the tenth biennial Valiant Shield exercise drew the participation of HMCS Montreal, France’s Bretagne, and a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) contingent that included eight ships, 4,000 personnel, 130 vehicles, and 60 aircraft.22 During Valiant Shield, the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114), JMSDF destroyer Kirisame, Philippine Navy offshore patrol vessel Andres Bonifacio, and Montreal conducted a maritime cooperative activity in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.23 U.S. Marines and sailors also established in Palau the first Role 2 medical field hospital—a mobile medical facility capable of providing laboratory services, X-rays, dental support, surgery, resuscitative surgical support, and other treatments four hours after arriving and for up to 60 days.24 In another first, the U.S. Army fired its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) from Palau International Airport—the first use of PrSM outside the United States—hitting a moving target at sea.25
The Navy continued freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) to challenge 29 different excessive maritime claims from 17 nations.26 The USS Preble (DDG-88) in December conducted its first FONOP since she joined the Forward Deployed Naval Force in Yokosuka, Japan. The Preble is currently the Navy’s sole destroyer equipped with a directed-energy weapon, the High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system.27 Replacing the Preble’s forward Mk 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system, HELIOS is expected to deliver between 60 and 120 kilowatts as a counter-UAV dazzler.28 Unlike the Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy (ODIN) system on board eight Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, HELIOS is integrated into the Preble’s combat system and adds a directed-energy weapon to counter adversary ISR platforms, disable surface and aerial unmanned systems, and eventually defend against antiship cruise missiles.
The past year proved to be very good for the Independence-variant littoral combat ships (LCSs). After achieving initial operational capability in 2023, the first mine countermeasures (MCM) mission package was embarked on board the USS Canberra (LCS-30) in April 2024. The MCM mission package includes the MCM USV when so equipped and a MH-60S Seahawk multimission helicopter configured to carry sensors and systems to hunt for, sweep, and neutralize mines. The Canberra, along with the USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and Santa Barbara (LCS-32), will replace retiring Avenger-class MCM ships in the U.S. Fifth Fleet beginning in 2025. The Secretary of the Navy also approved the reassignment in 2027 of another four Independence-variant LCSs to Sasebo, Japan, to replace the remaining Avenger-class MCMs in the Seventh Fleet. Finally, reports in 2023 of the USS Jackson (LCS-6) and Montgomery (LCS-8) being decommissioned in 2024 were incorrect. Both ships remain active and bolster the number of battle force ships in the Navy.
The Freedom-variant LCS also ended the year with a success story when the Indianapolis concluded an 18-month deployment to the U.S. Fifth and Sixth Fleets before returning to Mayport, Florida, in late November.29 While the Navy proceeds to deploy more Independence-variant LCSs with MCM mission packages, the Freedom variant is more readily available to be equipped with other systems. Although former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro directed the Freedom-variant LCSs be equipped with the Mk 70 Payload Delivery System, which would enable those ships to employ Standard and Tomahawk missiles in addition to the already integrated Naval Strike Missile, it is unclear if the new administration will continue with this plan.30 The Mk 70 would provide the Freedom variant with a true long-range strike system, which naval experts believe would be of value to the Navy.31
New Strategies and Enduring Shipbuilding Constraints
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti released her strategic priorities in America’s Warfighting Navy in January and her Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy, or NavPlan 2024, in September. Collectively, the documents outline plans for rapidly bolstering the Navy by improving on-time completion of maintenance availabilities applying lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and reinvigorating ship construction and repair to grow the fleet to 381 battle force vessels.32 In some ways the CNO’s strategic plans resemble those of former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman’s 600-ship Navy and former CNO Admiral Elmo Zumwalt’s high-low fleet. These strategies sought to increase the fleet’s size by extending ship service lives through modernization. In addition to growing the fleet’s size, Admiral Franchetti also seeks a hybrid fleet that would pair crewed ships operating with a diverse portfolio alongside robotic and autonomous systems.33
Shipbuilding
The Navy’s new 30-year shipbuilding plan, which calls for a fleet of 381 ships, was supported by contracts for new and sustained shipbuilding programs. The Navy awarded NASSCO a block-buy contract for up to eight additional John Lewis–class fleet replenishment oilers.34 NASSCO also won a contract to design new submarine tenders to replace the two remaining Emory S. Land–class tenders commissioned in 1979.35 Significantly, the Navy awarded a multiyear amphibious ship contract to fund three San Antonio–class amphibious transport docks (LPDs) and one America-class Flight II amphibious assault ship (LHA), a plan that will save taxpayers an estimated $1 billion.36 Funding of $268.1 million also was included for the first medium landing ship (LSM). The funding is earmarked for the detailed design and nonrecurring engineering costs for the class, which helps address the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ concerns about the low number of deployable amphibious landing ships available in 2023.37
Submarine construction shows signs of growing out of its current backlog. In the short term, the Office of Management and Budget is proposing an additional $5–6 billion in the 2025 federal budget continuing resolution to bolster the $9.4 billion Congress originally appropriated earlier in the year. This supplemental budget would fund the final two Virginia-class submarines Baltimore (SSN-812) and Atlanta (SSN-813) and cover unexpected inflation and increases in the cost of labor.38 In 2024, the Navy also commissioned the USS New Jersey (SSN-796); launched three additional Virginia-class submarines; and decided to keep the Los Angeles–class submarines USS San Juan (SSN-751) and Topeka (SSN-754) on active duty despite the submarines being slated for decommissioning last year.
Overseas, efforts to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines advanced with the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) and the 2024 NDIS Implementation Plan for Fiscal Year 2025. The documents detail the U.S. government’s investment strategy to regenerate shipbuilding capacity and add shipyard workers—two critical challenges confronting U.S. submarine yards fulfilling additional Australian and U.S. submarine orders.39
Despite the current gains, the Navy’s goal of a 381-ship fleet faces continued challenges. First, the 2025 budget is short by one ship. Second, even with sufficient funding, U.S. shipyards lack the infrastructure and workforce to match the capacity of Chinese shipyards.40 Third, aging ships such as Ticonderoga-class cruisers are rapidly approaching the end of their service lives and are scheduled for decommissioning, following a cruiser modernization program that spent $1.84 billion on four cruisers that will still decommission early.41 Fourth, the final Independence-variant LCS, the USS Pierre (LCS-38), was launched from Austal USA in August with no plans to procure more.42
Finally, the Navy’s plan to grow the fleet with small and affordable frigates and amphibious landing ships has been beset by schedule and execution issues. Delivery of the first Constellation-class frigate is now delayed by three years, until 2029.43 Based on the Italian FREMM design, the program has had growing pains as the Navy has still not finalized the ship’s design and Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard struggles to stay on schedule. Press reports indicate the frigate design should be “stabilized” by May 2025.44 The shipyard confronts lingering worker and material shortages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to fulfilling a contract for four multimission surface combatants for Saudi Arabia. The Marine Corps’ plans for the LSM also ran aground in 2024, when the industry bids submitted proved too expensive for the Navy. The service canceled the industry solicitation in December and is assessing new ideas.45
Evolution of the Hybrid Fleet
The Navy continues to make progress in developing, testing, experimenting, and deploying UxS/RAS as complements to traditional ships and to help offset delays in ship construction and the decommissioning of older assets, such as the cruisers. This mix between traditional and new platforms is what the CNO describes as a hybrid fleet.46 In the 1970s, CNO Zumwalt’s high-low fleet concept sought to build smaller hydrofoils and frigates that could provide lethality at lower costs and with less manpower. A hybrid fleet with UxS/RASs today could help the Navy achieve the 381-ship fleet goal while taking full advantage of the lessons Ukraine has learned from UxS operations against Russia. Following the highly touted deployment of four medium-sized USVs to the western Pacific and Australia in 2023, the Navy’s path to a true hybrid fleet was bolstered by the CNO’s NavPlan and its emphasis on expanding RAS. The Navy continues developing its large, medium, and small unmanned surface vessel (LUSV, MUSV, and sUSV) programs.
Congress, however, may have a different view on the future of these USV efforts. In a December letter to the Navy, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), expressed concerns over the direction of the LUSV program. The lawmakers instead would like the Navy to shift LUSV funding in 2025 and 2026 to buy more MUSVs and “already procured payloads, and creating a path to achieve a program of record in FY2027 for the MUSV.”47 Resolving this will be a major issue confronting Navy USV plans in the coming year.
At the January 2025 Surface Navy Association symposium, Director of Surface Warfare Rear Admiral William Daly said he wanted to “streamline the family of uncrewed surface craft” by procuring only a single USV that is affordable, non-exquisite, and can be built by multiple production lines.48 Daly said his plan would include only two, rather than three, types of USVs. First, it would include a single USV between the size of a current LUSV and MUSV that would be capable of employing either the weapon systems intended for the LUSV or the ISR systems intended for the MUSV. Daly said this approach would increase commonality, production, and delivery to the fleet.49 The second program would continue the development, production, and fielding of “single, specific mission package” sUSVs that the Navy is already operating and testing with its first sUSV squadron (USVRon-3), established earlier in 2024.50
The Navy achieved an important milestone in the LUSV effort when all six industry teams achieved a 720-hour continuous test of their propulsion systems with no human intervention.51 Congress established this testing requirement in the Navy’s 2021 budget. Earlier in 2024, the Navy added the Vanguard USV, built by Austal USA and L3Harris, to its USV fleet.52 Designed from the keel up to be an unmanned vessel, as opposed to converting a manned ship to conduct unmanned operations, the Vanguard is still being fitted out.
The Navy, in cooperation with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), also conducted the first underway refueling of a USV in late December. The demonstration was part of DARPA’s No Manning Required Ship, a project to build a USV designed from the keel up to have no humans on board. In the test, the Mariner was equipped with a mini fueling station that passed fuel to the Ranger. While individuals were on board both vessels, they did not intervene during the test.53 DARPA also is building a new USV named Defiant. It is unclear, however, whether the Navy will add that vessel to its fleet.
The Navy is inching closer to deploying the Orca extra-large unmanned undersea vehicle (XLUUV) being developed by Boeing. The Orca is essentially the size of a small diesel submarine, with a payload bay the size of a school bus. It is designed to conduct clandestine missions for extended periods. Early in 2024, the Navy and Boeing began in-water testing with the Orca XLEO, a Boeing engineering prototype built to test all the UUV’s systems while production versions were still under construction.54
Then, in a December ceremony with the CNO at Boeing’s facilities in Huntington Beach, California, the Navy took delivery of the first Orca. “I have no doubt that Orca will contribute to our future lethality, to our warfighting effectiveness. . . . What we learn from this capability will inform the development of future robotic and autonomous systems,” Admiral Franchetti said.55 The four remaining Orcas are expected to deliver to the Navy across 2025.
The Navy also selected three vendors for additional large displacement UUVs (LDUUVs), which are smaller than their extra-large counterparts and intended to operate closer to a host vessel.56 Experimentation resumed on the Navy’s Snakehead LDUUV.57 Meanwhile, the Navy’s smaller Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS (REMUS) undersea vehicle deployed with the USS Delaware (SSN-791) on the submarine’s European patrol.58 The REMUS 600 can be launched and recovered through the submarine’s torpedo tubes.
Modernization, Life Extensions, and Construction
With limited funding for the growing list of sea, air, and undersea platforms the Navy must construct in coming decades, the service is turning to the time-tested strategy of undertaking service-life extension programs for some ships, while modernizing others with new weapons and systems.
Despite schedule delays and upgrade setbacks with the Zumwalt-class destroyers and Constellation-class frigate programs, both classes notched important progress. In late December, Ingalls Shipbuilding finished work on refitting the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) for a new mission by removing the ships’ two 155mm Advanced Gun Systems to install the Conventional Prompt Strike system with new hypersonic missiles.59 Now back in the water, the Zumwalt will begin significant testing and evaluation before returning to the fleet.60
The Navy also released a notice in November seeking additional sources for the construction of frigates in the future. The notice is not related to current delays, but is a recognition that the Navy will need to build more frigates at a faster rate in the future and will require more capacity to achieve that goal. “We’re really in a market analysis phase,” Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, said of the ongoing process. “We’re looking at . . . from a 30-year shipbuilding plan, we need to have more capacity to build frigates. So, we’re doing that market research now.”61 Smith named Austal USA, Bollinger, HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding, and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works as likely competitors to be the second shipyard for frigate construction.
Until the Constellation-class frigates start to be delivered, the Arleigh Burke–class destroyers and the declining number of aging Ticonderoga-class cruisers will remain the backbone of the surface fleet. The DDG-51 modernization 2.0 effort will begin with four Flight II Arleigh Burke–class ships: the Pinckney (DDG-91), James E. Williams (DDG-95), Chung-Hoon (DDG-93), and Halsey (DDG-97). Modernization 2.0 includes significant upgrades for the Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes, including SEWIP Block III electronic warfare systems, SPY-6 radars, and Aegis Baseline 10 capability.62 While approximately 20 Fight IIA destroyers are expected to eventually undergo the Modernization 2.0 effort, Secretary Del Toro also announced that 12 older Arleigh Burke–class Flight I destroyers will remain operational beyond their original 35-year expected service lives.63
The majority of the remaining Ticonderoga-class cruisers are still on track to be decommissioned, and 2024 saw the decommissioning of the USS Vicksburg (CG-69) in June 2024, followed by the Cowpens (CG-63) in August and the Antietam (CG-54) and Leyte Gulf (CG-55) in September.64 This came after the decision to retain the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), Chosin (CG-65), and Cape St. George (CG-71) past their expected service lives for 10 years of cumulative ship service life from FY2026 to FY2029.65
The fleet also conducted a successful at-sea demonstration of the Transferrable Reload At-Sea Method (TRAM), which allows for missile rearming of combatants at sea.66 During the 11 October test off the coast of San Diego, the USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11) transferred and loaded an inert instrumented test canister into the Chosin’s Mk 41 vertical launch system. The test was groundbreaking, since it opens a pathway to rearm combatants at sea rather than having them return to port to reload. The capability is expected to be operational by 2027. “Today, we proved just how game-changing TRAM truly is—and what a powerful deterrent it will be to our competitors,” said Secretary Del Toro, who witnessed the demonstration.67
The Navy also achieved important acquisition milestones in 2024, especially in the critical area of missiles. Most significant were the achievements of the Navy’s SM-3 Block IIA missile developed for ballistic-missile defense. The missile underwent its baptism by fire when the Arleigh Burke and Carney used it in April defending Israel from Iranian missiles during barrage attacks. Raytheon’s SM-3 Block IIA program then achieved full-rate production approval in October, and a $115 million investment is expected to increase manufacturing capacity by nearly 67 percent by the end of 2025.68
The Navy also awarded Raytheon a contract for $344 million to develop two Standard Missile variants with a common guidance section, the SM-2 Block IIICU and SM-6 Block IU, to improve targeting capability for U.S. and allied navies that employ the Standard Missile family.69 While Raytheon’s overall volume of production for the Standard Missile is a concern, Norway’s Kongsberg announced the opening of another U.S. missile production plant in Virginia to build ship- and shore-launched Naval Strike Missiles and air-launched Joint Strike Missiles.70 Finally, the long-awaited AIM-174B—the air-to-air SM-6 and the successor to the AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile—made its debut with an F/A-18 Super Hornet squadron in 2024, following the Navy’s cancellation of the AIM-152 advanced air-to-air missile program back in 1992.71
Regardless of 2024’s successes, lessons, and setbacks, the end of the year leaves the Navy with just two years before 2027, when Indo-Pacific Command and the Intelligence Community have assessed that China will be ready to either blockade or invade Taiwan.72 Combat operations in the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea suggest a long-term solution based on a directed-energy weapon system is needed in the fleet to sustain combat by countering missiles and unmanned systems. Shipyards need to be sufficiently funded to expeditiously fulfill the 30-year shipbuilding plan, improve fleet maintenance, and modernize an aging fleet—all before China blockades or invades Taiwan. In the meantime, the Navy must continue to make the most use of its existing fleet of undermanned and overworked ships, submarines, and squadrons, while rapidly adding new UxS and weapons to increase lethality.
1. ADM John Aquilino, USN, Statement of Admiral John C. Aquilino, U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Posture, 20 March 2024.
2. Lolita Baldour and John Gambrell, “A U.S. Aircraft Carrier and Its Crew Have Fought Houthi Attacks for Months. How Long Can It Last?” The Associated Press, 19 June 2024.
3. Jonathan Lehrfeld, Diana Stancy, and Geoff Ziezulewicz, “All the Houthi-U.S. Navy incidents in the Middle East (That We Know of),” Navy Times, 12 February 2024; and U.S. Central Command, “CENTCOM Forces Defeat Houthi Attacks on U.S. Navy and U.S.-Flagged Ships in the Gulf of Aden,” press release, 10 December 2024.
4. Jim Garamone, “U.S., U.K. Launch Strikes Against Houthi Targets in Yemen to Protect Red Sea Shipping,” DOD News, 4 February 2024; and Lara Korte, “U.S. Forces Strike Houthi Weapons and Command Hubs in Yemen,” Stars and Stripes, 31 December 2024.
5. Diana Stancy, “Here Are the Munitions Navy Jets Used for First Time Against Houthis,” Navy Times, 25 July 2024.
6. Geoff Ziezulewicz, “How One Warship Thwarting a Houthi Attack a Year Ago Changed the Navy,” Navy Times, 19 October 2024.
7. Sam LaGrone, “SM-3 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Used for First Time in Combat, Officials Confirm,” USNI News, 15 April 2024; and Mallory Shelbourne and Sam LaGrone, “U.S. Destroyers Successfully Down Iranian Missiles with SM-3s, Carrier USS Harry. S. Truman Now in U.S. 6th Fleet,” USNI News, 2 October 2024.
8. Heather Mongilio, “U.S. Warships in Eastern Mediterranean Down Iranian Ballistic Missiles,” USNI News, 14 April 2024.
9. Heather Mongilio, “U.S. Warships Fire a Dozen Interceptors Against Iranian Missile Attack,” USNI News, 1 October 2024.
10. Jack Epstein, “The U.S. Navy Fired Nearly $2 Billion of Weapons in Nearly a Year of Fighting in the Middle East,” Business Insider, 28 August 2024.
11. U.S. Department of Defense, “Admiral: Success of Red Sea Operations a Tribute to Sailors, Systems,” press release, 15 May 2024.
12. Geoff Ziezulewicz, “What the Navy Is Learning from Its Fight in the Red Sea,” Navy Times, 18 January 2024.
13. Joseph Clark, “Navy Deploying Key Capabilities to Support Humanitarian Aid to Gaza,” DoD News, 20 March 2024.
14. Clark, “Navy Deploying Key Capabilities.”
15. Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand, “U.S Military Ends Troubled Temporary Pier Mission Off Gaza Coast,” CNN, 17 July 2024.
16. Jon Gambrell, “U.S. Navy Faces Its Most Intense Combat Since World War II Against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi Rebels,” The Associated Press, 14 June 2024.
17. Sam LaGrone, “Red Sea Lessons Informing Fleet Forces’ Combat Surge Model, Says Admiral,” USNI News, 17 September 2024.
18. “U.S. Navy and Italian Navy Conduct First Indo-Pacific Multi-Large Deck Event,” Naval News, 11 August 2024.
19. LT Michaela White, USN, “Navy Launches Operation Ice Camp 2024 in the Arctic Ocean,” DVIDS, 3 August 2024.
20. LCpl Evelyn Doherty, USMC, “U.S. Marines Rehearse EABO in Korea,” U.S. Marine Forces, Pacific, press release, 13 March 2024.
21. LCDR Robert Reinheimer, USN, “RIMPAC 2024 Kicks Off in Hawaii,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command press release, 28 June 2024.
22. “Expanded Valiant Shield 2024 Highlights Advanced Warfighting Capabilities in Indo-Pacific,” Indo-Pacific Defense Forum, 21 July 2024; and Alex Wilson, “Japan for First Time Joins Multinational Valiant Shield Exercise near Guam,” Stars and Stripes, 10 June 2024.
23. Dzirhan Mahadzir, “U.S. Sinks Ship in Valiant Shield Live Fire Exercise,” USNI News, 17 June 2024.
24. Nello Miele, “Valiant Shield 24: CLB-13 Establishes the First Role II Medical Field Hospital in Palau,” U.S Navy Press Office, 19 June 2024.
25. Jen Judson, “U.S. Army’s New Precision Missile Hit Moving Target in Pacific Exercise,” Defense News, 25 June 2024.
26. Officer of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, Annual Freedom of Navigation Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 8 May 2024).
27. Alex Wilson, “Navy’s Only Laser-Equipped Destroyer En Route to Japan for Homeport Shift,” Stars and Stripes, 1 October 2024.
28. Zach Abdi, “U.S. Navy Readies 300 kW HELCAP Laser System for Intercept Tests,” Naval News, 3 April 2024.
29. U.S. Fleet Forces Command, “Longest in the Fight—USS Indianapolis Returns from Deployment,” press release, 26 November 2024.
30. “U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships to Receive Major Weapon Upgrades Including New Missile Launchers,” Marine Insight, 13 December 2024.
31. Sebastien Roblin, “The Great Navy Littoral Combat Ship Reboot Has Arrived,” 1945.com, 27 December 2024.
32. ADM Lisa M. Franchetti, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy 2024 (Washington, DC: Headquarters U.S. Navy, 2024).
33. Norman Polmar, The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 14th ed. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987), 3–5.
34. General Dynamics, “General Dynamics NASSCO Receives Additional Eight-Ship Contract to Build T-AO 10-17,” press release, 13 September 2024.
35. Gary Robbins, “NASSCO Gets $20.5 Million to Design Navy Submarine Tenders,” San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 July 2024.
36. Carter Johnston, “U.S. Navy’s First Ever Multi-Year Amphibious Ship Contract Awarded,” Naval News, 25 September 2025.
37. “Report to Congress on Navy Medium Landing Ship,” USNI News, 26 July 2024; and Caitlin M. Kenney, “Fewer Than 1/3 of Navy’s Amphibious Ships Are Ready to Deploy,” Defense One, 11 March 2023.
38. Sam LaGrone, “OMB Proposes Alternate Funding Plan for Virginia-class Attack Submarines,” USNI News, 19 November 2024.
39. Department of Defense, National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan for FY2025 (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, October 2024).
40. Megan Eckstein, “Del Toro Aims to Reinvigorate U.S. Shipping to Strengthen Fleet,” Defense News, 5 December 2023.
41. Chris Cavas, “U.S. Navy’s Cruiser Countdown,” Naval News, 9 June 2024; and U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Ship Modernization: Poor Cruiser Outcomes Demonstrate Need for Better Planning and Quality Oversight in Future Efforts (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, December 2024).
42. Fatima Bahtic, “Austal launches USS Pierre, U.S. Navy’s Final Independence-variant LCS,” Naval Today, 6 August 2024.
43. Megan Eckstein, “U.S. Navy Ship Programs Face Years’ Long Delays Amid Labor, Supply Woes,”
Defense News, 2 April 2024.
44. Mallory Shelbourne, “Navy: Constellation Frigate Design Will Be Ready May, Second Yard Could Come in FY2027,” USNI News, 13 December 2024.
45. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Unstable Design Has Stalled Construction and Compromised Delivery Schedules (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, 29 May 2024); and Mallory Shelbourne, “Landing Ship Medium Program Stalled Over Price, Navy Cancels Industry RFP,” USNI News, 17 December 2024.
46. Blaine Stewart, “For the First Time in Years, U.S. Navy on Track to Reach Recruiting Goal in 2024,” WTKR, 18 September 2024.
47. Justin Katz, “Exclusive: 2 Senators Urge Navy to Change Course on Large USV Program,” Breaking Defense, 2 December 2024.
48. RADM William Daly, USN, “Navy Surface Director: No More Big, Expensive Drones—the Future Is One Affordable Design,” Defense News, 15 January 2025.
49. Daly, “Navy Surface Director: No More Big, Expensive Drones.”
50. Daly.
51. “U.S. Navy Completes Final Testing Milestone for Unmanned Surface Vessel Program,” Seapower, 20 December 2024.
52. Naval Sea Systems Command, Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants, “U.S. Navy Announces Launch of Vanguard Unmanned Surface Vessel,” press release, 11 January 2024; and Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants Public Affairs, “U.S. Navy Christens Newest Unmanned Surface Vessel, Vanguard,” press release, 6 May 2024.
53. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, “Automated Fueling at Sea Test Completed for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Program,” 19 December 2024.
54. Jon Harper, “What’s Next for the Navy’s ORCA Unmanned Submarine,” DefenseScoop, 12 January 2024.
55. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, “Chief of Naval Operations Highlights Robotic and Autonomous Systems with Visit to Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle,” press release, 6 December 2024.
56. Defense Innovation Unit, “U.S. Navy Selects Vendors for Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Program,” press release, 7 February 2024; and Megan Eckstein, “Boeing, Lockheed Martin Moving Forward with Navy XLUUV Acquisition Program,” USNI News, 17 October 2017.
57. Zach Abdi, “U.S. Navy Restarts Snakehead LDUUV Program,” Naval News, 22 March 2024.
58. Lee Willett, “First U.S. Navy Submarine Will Deploy with New UUV Capability this Year,” Naval News, 9 July 2024.
59. Carter Johnston, “U.S. Navy Removes First 155mm AGS from USS Zumwalt at Ingalls Shipbuilding,” Naval News, 14 May 2024.
60. “HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding Undocks USS Zumwalt,” press release, 6 December 2024.
61. Shelbourne, “Navy: Constellation Frigate Design Will Be Ready May.”
62. Justin Katz, “Navy Taps First 4 Destroyers for Initial Upgrades to Radar, EW, Combat System,” Breaking Defense, 10 January 2024.
63. Department of the Navy, “SecNav Announces Service Life Extensions for 12 Destroyers to ‘Keep More Ready Players on the Field,’” press release, 31 October 2024.
64. Chris Cavas, “U.S. Navy’s Cruiser Countdown,” Naval News, 9 June 2024.
65. Department of the Navy, “SecNav Announces Service Life Extensions for 3 Cruisers.”
66. Thomas McMahon, “Navy Demonstrates First At-Sea Rearming of Vertical Launching System,” DVIDS, 11 October 2024.
67. Aaron-Matthew Lariosa, “U.S. Navy Holds First TRAM At-Sea VLS Loading Test,” Naval News, 12 October 2024.
68. Raytheon, “RTX’s Raytheon SM-3® Block IIA Achieves Full-Rate Production Approval,” press release, 15 October 2024; and Jen Judson, “Raytheon Aims to Boost SM-3 Missile Production Rates,” Defense News, 15 January 2025.
69. Megan Eckstein, “Raytheon to Develop Two Standard Missile Types with Better Targeting,” Defense News, 25 April 2024.
70. Jen Judson, “Norway’s Kongsberg to Open New Virginia Missile Production Plant,” Defense News, 17 September 2024.
71. Douglas Barrie, “Phoenix Successor Redux: The USN’s Range Riposte to China’s PL-17?” Institute for Strategic Studies, 29 July 2024.
72. Aquilino, Statement of Admiral John C. Aquilino, U.S. Navy, Commander U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
