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Defense Primer: Naval Forces
Actual Size of the Navy
The size of the Navy in recent years has generally ranged
between 270 and 290 battle force ships. As of November 8,
2018, the figure was 286. (The current total figure can be
found here: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?
id=146".) In its FY2019 budget submission, the Navy had
projected that at the end of FY2018, the Navy would
include 292 ships.
Nuclear-Powered Ships
The Navy's submarines and aircraft carriers are all nuclear
powered, meaning that they use on-board nuclear reactors
to generate power for propulsion and for running shipboard
equipment. Navy submarines each have one reactor; Navy
aircraft carriers each have two. All other Navy ships are
conventionally powered, meaning that they burn petroleum-
based fuels for propulsion and shipboard power.
Navy Nuclear Weapons
The Navy maintains a neither-confirm-nor-deny (NCND)
policy regarding the presence or absence of nuclear
weapons on specific ships. In general, however, it is
understood that the only Navy ships that carry nuclear
weapons are SSBNs, which carry nuclear-armed
submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). All of the
Navy's other nuclear weapons, which were referred to
collectively as non-strategic naval nuclear weapons, were
withdrawn from the fleet as part of a unilateral initiative
announced by President George H.W. Bush at the end of
the Cold War in 1991.
Navy Formations
Naval forces are modular and scalable-Navy ships can be
combined into formations of various types and sizes that are
tailored for their intended missions. The two most
prominent types of naval formations are carrier strike
groups (CSGs) and amphibious ready groups (ARGs).
The composition of a CSG can vary, but typically includes
a CVN with its embarked CVW, perhaps three to five
surface combatants (typically one cruiser, plus some
destroyers), a CLF ship, and perhaps an SSN. An ARG
typically includes three amphibious ships-one LHA/LHD
type "big deck" amphibious assault ship (which resembles a
medium-sized aircraft carrier) and two smaller (but still
sizeable) amphibious ships known as LPDs and LSDs. An
ARG typically embarks a Marine Expeditionary Unit
(MEU), which includes more than 2,000 Marines and their
equipment (including some aircraft) and supplies. A third
type of naval formation is a Surface Action Group (SAG),
which consists of a few or several surface combatants,
without an aircraft carrier.
Navy ships sometimes operate by themselves-all SSBNs
and many SSNs operate this way, as do some surface
combatants and amphibious ships that are deployed to
lower-threat areas (such as South America or parts of
Africa) for purposes of engaging with allied or partner
forces in those areas.
Forward-Deployed OperationsThe U.S. Navy is unique among the world's navies in that,
at any given moment, a sizeable fraction of the Navy is
forward-deployed to distant operating areas, particularly theWestern Pacific and the Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf region.
At any given moment, 30% or more of the Navy, including
two or three CSGs and two or three ARGs, might be
forward-deployed. Having enough ships to maintain these
forward deployments is a major influence on calculations
that determine the Navy's force-level goal.
The forward-deployed presence of Navy ships is intended
to support a number of ongoing or potential missions,
including deterrence of potential aggressors; reassurance of
allies and partners; engagement operations with foreign
naval and other military forces (which can strengthen
political bonds and improve interoperability between the
Navy and those other forces); intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (ISR) operations; rapid response in
humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HA/DR)
situations; non-combatant evacuation operations (NEOs);
counter-terrorist operations, crisis response and
containment, and timely initial actions during the early (and
potentially critical) stages of a conflict.
Forward-Homeported Ships
Most of the Navy's ships are homeported in the United
States. To help support its ability to maintain its forward-
deployed presence, some Navy ships are homeported in
forward locations. The Navy's largest forward-homeporting
location is Japan, where a CSG, an ARG, and some mine
warfare ships are homeported. Additional Navy ships are
forward-homeported elsewhere in the Pacific, in the Persian
Gulf (at Bahrain), and in the Mediterranean (in Spain and
Italy).
Relevant Statutes
Title 10, U.S. Code, Subtitle C - Navy and Marine Corps
CRS Products
CRS Report RL32665, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding
Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke
Other Resources
Congressional Budget Office, The U.S. Military's Force Structure:
A Primer, July 2016, particularly Chapter 3 (pp. 45-79)
Department of the Navy, Highlights of the Department of the
Navy FY20 19 Budget, accessed October 23, 2018, at
http://www.secnav.navy.mil/fmc/fmb/Documents/19pres/Highli
ghts book.pdf
U.S. Navy Program Guide 201 7, accessed December 4, 2017, at
http://www.navy.mil/strategic/npgl 7.pdf
Ronald O'Rourke, rorourke@crs.loc.gov, 7-7610IF 10486
www.crs.gov 17-5700
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O'Rourke, Ronald. Defense Primer: Naval Forces, report, November 8, 2018; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1442993/m1/2/: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.