“This just doesn’t add up:” Golden Highlights Flaws in Navy’s Plan to Cut DDG-51 Destroyers

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WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) took Navy leadership to task in this week's House Armed Forces Committee hearing and laid bare a number of misjudgments behind their department's decision to reduce construction of new DDG-51 destroyers.

Golden pointed to significant flaws and conflicting rationales in the Navy's plan, including:

• As the Navy proposes cutting construction of new DDG-51s in 2022, Navy officials state that the fleet is currently in need of additional DDG-51s and that the Navy plans to order additional ships between 2023 and 2027. VIDEO
• The proposed cuts would likely lead to layoffs of hundreds of shipbuilders from shipyards in either Maine or Mississippi, likely the youngest, least-skilled on the site. Given the graying of the shipbuilding workforce, and the fact that it takes 5-7 years for shipbuilders to become fully proficient, the proposed cuts would jeopardize the Navy's ability to deliver on shipbuilding within the decade. VIDEO
• The proposed budget would retire seven cruisers, whose capabilities would need to be replaced within the fleet. At the same time, the budget reduces construction of the best ship to replace the retired cruisers, the DDG-51. VIDEO
• Navy leaders' projections for the fleet beyond FY 2025 rely on production of the next-generation DDG(X) destroyer, which will not be in production until 2028 at the earliest. In the meantime, DDG-51s will be necessary to meet those capabilities. VIDEO

"[The DDG-51] is the most versatile ship in the fleet. It's the principal for ballistic missile defense, it provides anti-submarine, anti-surface, and anti-air capabilities in a single platform. Since I became a member of this committee, when asked, not one member of the Navy has failed to stress the importance of getting the Flight III [DDG-51] out to sea," said Golden to the Navy leaders. "Now, when we're prepared to deliver this new capability to the Navy, it's proposed to reduce [the DDG-51 program]."

"We told you to procure three DDG ships this year and instead the Navy has come back and requested one," the congressman continued. "Congress bears the responsibility to provide and maintain a Navy and Congress gave the Navy direction last year that isn't reflected in this budget proposal, essentially a two-ship reduction from the existing law which Congress agreed to this past December.

Last month, the congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing concern that the Department of Defense only planned to request a single DDG-51 Flight III destroyer. Following the release of the President's budget, the delegation released a statement opposing the administration's funding reduction for the DDG-51 and pledging to advocate for increased procurement.

Earlier this month, Pingree and Golden brought the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) to the shipyard to highlight the key role the destroyers play in the Navy's mission. In the last several weeks, members of the delegation also toured the shipyard with acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker and Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gulday, in part to impress upon the officials the important role BIW and its shipbuilders play in the Navy's mission.