Massive Fleet Changes Loom As Navy Briefs SecDef Esper

Navy and Marine Corps leaders met with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his staff Monday to work through the Navy/Marine Corps ambitious new shipbuilding and force structure plan, which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

The meeting, which included Deputy Secretary David Norquist, Pentagon budget officials, and the top military and civilian leaders, came as Esper weighs the merits of the Navy’s plan to reach 355 ships as soon as next decade, a heavy lift that would add more than 50 ships to the current fleet, some of which would include new classes of ships the Navy hasn’t decided on yet.

“The Navy and Marine Corps’ work is largely done,” Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger said at a forum on amphibious ships on Capitol Hill. Berger said he’s unsure when the secretary’s review will be complete, or when the plan will be formally blessed and released to the public.