Pentagon Mulls How to Fund Submarines and 300-Ship Fleet

Congress has created a special fund to help the Navy build its next generation nuclear submarine fleet while rebuilding back to a 300-ship fleet, but Navy and Pentagon officials are now trying to find the dollars to supply that special funding line, said Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley.

Called the National Sea-Based Deterrence fund, the new account is designed to protect funding to build 12 new Ohio Replace Program submarines from the Navy’s overall shipbuilding budget because Navy leaders and lawmakers have said the Navy can’t afford to build the new submarines and also reach the service’s goal of achieving a 306-ship Navy.

In total, the Ohio Replacement program will consist of 12 submarines to begin deployments by 2031.

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