The USS Richard M. McCool Jr., a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, pulls into Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on Sept. 12, 2024. (Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon J. Vinson/U.S. Navy photo )
A Navy deal to pay nearly $10 billion to build three new warships will help strengthen the shipbuilding industry and efforts to satisfy a congressional demand to have 31 operational amphibious ships, the service’s top admiral said Wednesday.
The $9.6 billion purchase agreement was awarded last week to HII for the construction of three San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships. In recent years, the Navy has awarded multiship deals to HII for the construction of aircraft carriers, but this marks the first contract for multiple amphibious warships, which are used to deploy Marines and transport troops, vehicles and other equipment.
“This will make sure that we stay at the 31 amphibs and in the right arrangement that we need them. The Marine Corps is very focused on that, and so are we,” Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, said during a Defense Writer’s Group discussion with reporters.
Lawmakers and Navy leaders have butted heads in recent years about the size of the fleet, with Marine Corps officials in public remarks calling attention to the number of in-service amphibious ships that are not operationally ready because they are undergoing or need maintenance and repair work.
In 2022, Gen. David Berger, then-commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote a letter to the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee arguing 31 amphibious ships were necessary to maintain readiness and “reliably react to unforeseen contingencies.” Navy leaders in years prior suggested shrinking the fleet without plans to replace ships that were retiring.
In response, lawmakers in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual law that sets policy and spending priorities for the Defense Department, called on the Navy to have “not less than 31 operational amphibious warfare ships” to be at full strength. The NDAA permitted the Navy to procure up to five amphibious ships in a block-buy purchase to replace aging warships that will be retired in the coming years.
According to the deal, which was first outlined by the Navy secretary in August, the first dock ship in the block-buy would be procured in fiscal 2025 for $2.2 billion. A second dock ship would be procured in fiscal 2027 for $2.3 billion, and a third in fiscal 2029 for $2.4 billion.
The August draft outlined an estimated cost of $11.5 billion — about $2 billion less than the agreed upon contract. The contract announcement is comprised solely of the shipbuilding construction cost provided by HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, while the amount outlined in the Aug. 14 certification to Congress includes a cost estimate to build the ship, provide government furnished equipment and other program costs, said Alan Baribeau, a spokesperson for HII. The new transport docks will be built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss.
The bulk buy, Franchetti said, brings predictability to the shipbuilding industry and has the potential to accelerate the construction.
“[Shipbuilders] want to have headlights. They want to know what’s coming because then they can make the capital investments they need to make. They can hire the workforce they need,” she said.
Paul Roden, the chairman of the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition, also said the announcement of the contract will bring much-needed stability to the industrial base. The coalition, which is a group of companies that advocates for sustained funding to construct amphibious ships, has lobbied for the deal for more than a decade.
“When there is a clear road map and consistent demand, suppliers can more effectively manage supply chains, source long-lead time materials and sustain a highly skilled workforce. We can’t make these assets, crucial to the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps team, without a strong industrial base which relies on predictability,” Roden wrote in an email.
The predictable funding, he said, allows shipbuilders to invest in the workforce, get ahead of inflation and ensure on-time deliveries of the warships. Additionally, buying the ships in bulk is expected to save $1 billion, officials with the Navy and HII have said.
“Suppliers will now have more opportunities for research and development, necessary to drive the innovation that we need for a stronger fleet,” Roden said.
The deal was awarded one week after Franchetti’s office announced a new initiative called “Project 33,” which is meant to prepare the Navy fleet for a potential fight with China by 2027.
The deal represents a long-term effort to maintain the Navy’s maritime advantage, though outlined in Project 33 is a near-term priority to “get more players on the field.” The service is doing this, she said, by taking a new approach to maintenance cycles for all warships — not just amphibious ships.
“We have had sort of a ‘just in time’ approach to being able to order some of the supplies, the government furnished materials, the spare parts. We know there are going to be some consistent things that we need to do in maintenance periods. So how do we get ahead of that? Instead of ‘just in time,’ have it ‘just in case,’ ” Franchetti said.
In the past year, three Wasp-class amphibious assault ships have experienced engineering problems while at sea that forced the ships to return to port. In the case of the USS Boxer, it had to return to San Diego 10 days after it deployed. The service is examining amphibious readiness, Franchetti said.
A Government Accountability Office report in September found problems with the Navy’s use of outdated computer systems to plan, manage and order parts for needed work further hindering repairs and maintenance across the fleet. The watchdog report also noted a lack of sailors with the knowledge needed to perform maintenance.
The Navy is now purchasing pools of rotable parts ahead of time. The on-time completion rate of maintenance across the fleet was 36% in 2022, and 41% in 2023. As of June, the Navy was on track for a 67% on-time maintenance completion rate, Franchetti said.
“I am very focused on maintenance for all of our ships — amphib ships, destroyers, submarines, every type of platform we have, because again, getting ships in and out of maintenance on time is going to get more players on the field,” she said.
The deal also funds a contract modification for America-class assault ship 10. The ship will be built with a well deck for surface assaults but retain the aviation capability of the America-class design. It also will now have a larger flight deck for F-35B fighter jets and MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
“We know that amphibious ships — [amphibious ready groups and Marine expeditionary units] — are going to have a role to play in the delivering future warfighting advantage,” Franchetti said. “Some of our amphibs are older and again, so as new ships come online, this will allow us to have the best technology and capability for our Navy-Marine Corps team and really for the joint force.”
