McPherson ends Modly's 2030 carrier study

By Mallory Shelbourne / May 13, 2020 at 2:08 PM

The Navy's new acting secretary has ended the carrier study commissioned by former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly.

A spokeswoman for acting Navy Secretary James McPherson confirmed to Inside Defense that McPherson halted the initiative.

"Acting Secretary of the Navy James E. McPherson recently determined the Department of the Navy will not, for the time being, move forward with the Future Carrier 2030 effort," CDR Sarah Higgins said in a statement.

The Navy "will fully support the Department of Defense's internal study on future force structure requirements, which will include a carrier review. Other DON initiatives, like Stem to Stern, Education for Seapower, and Make Ford Ready summits, will continue," she added.

Modly launched the study in March to assess what aircraft carriers will look like in 2030 and the years after. But Modly resigned in early April after receiving criticism for berating the former skipper of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), which was dealing with a coronavirus outbreak onboard. McPherson has since served as the acting secretary.

U.S. Ambassador to Norway Ken Braithwaite is President Trump's nominee to serve as the Navy's new top civilian.

Braithwaite appeared last week in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee for his nomination hearing and awaits a vote in the upper chamber.

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