![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/USS_Theodore_Roosevelt_at_sea-214x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ninja sends us this article from Stars and Stripes<\/a>. In the article, SecDef Mark Esper provides more details on his plan for a 500-ship Navy, which we first talked about<\/a> a few weeks back.<\/p>\n The Navy wants to double its number of submarines as part of a modernization plan to build more than 500 ships by 2045 to maintain a competitive edge against other naval powers such as China and Russia, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that this is the vision for the future that will ensure that we maintain the greatest Navy in the world,\u201d he said during a speech at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington-based think tank specializing in U.S. defense policy, force planning and budgets.<\/p>\n Esper provided an overview of the plans developed from Defense Department findings, called \u201cBattle Force 2045,\u201d though the Pentagon has yet to share the Navy\u2019s 30-year shipbuilding plan or its naval force study with Congress.<\/p>\n The defense secretary directed a future naval force study earlier this year to determine how the U.S. Navy can maintain its edge against the navies of other military powers.<\/p>\n Esper said the need to modernize the Navy is in part due to China\u2019s own naval modernization and shipbuilding efforts. The Pentagon\u2019s China report released Sept. 1 determined the country aims to have a \u201cworld-class\u201d military on par with the United States by 2049. It already has the largest navy in the world at 350 ships. The United States now has 296 deployable battle force ships, according to the Navy.<\/p>\n Esper said during his speech that the Pentagon has found a \u201ccredible path\u201d to get to 355 ships within the next 15 years, which had been the Navy\u2019s previous shipbuilding goal. However, he did not offer specifics Tuesday, other than to say they were included as part of the funding and reform efforts being created for the Battle Force 2045 plan.<\/p>\n The first priority of that plan is to have a large number of attack submarines, with a target of 70 to 80 submarines overall. This will require the Navy to build at least three next generation Virginia-class submarines every year \u201cas soon as possible,\u201d Esper said. The Navy now has more than 40 operational attack submarines, according to Pentagon documents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n More at the source. This clearly shows the Trump Administration’s belief that China is the largest long-term threat to our interests. With a resurgent Russia also looking to play on the world stage it seems like Trump wants to borrow Reagan’s play of spending our enemies into collapsing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"