§8695 Navy Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement Reporting

Summary

The Chief of Naval Operations must send a battle force ship assessment and a ship requirement report to the defense committees within 180 days after a covered event. The assessment must review current national and Navy guidance, estimate steady peacetime maritime security needs, identify force options to meet theater campaign plans, lay out an optimized day‑to‑day global ship posture, model the fleet’s ability to fight Department of Defense–approved war scenarios, and calculate how many ships of each kind and where they must be stationed to meet presence and wartime response timelines. The requirement must use that assessment and say, for fiscal years 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years after the covered event, the total number of battle force ships needed, the number in each of 11 categories (for example aircraft carriers, large and small surface combatants, amphibious ships, attack and ballistic missile submarines, logistics and support ships, and others), the ship classes in each category, and how many of each class. A “battle force ship” means a commissioned warship or naval ship that directly supports combat or Navy missions. A “covered event” means major changes in strategy, basing or laydown of forces, how forces are operated or crewed, or assigned missions that change ship types or numbers. The Commandant of the Marine Corps must provide the parts about amphibious ships and vessels whose main job is moving Marines.