Navy developing 30-year combat-power plan

The Navy is working on a long-term plan for investing in combat systems, a document which will act as an addendum to the service's 30-year shipbuilding plan.

Rear Adm. Jon HIll, the program executive officer for integrated warfare systems, said the 30-year "combat power plan" would align with the Navy's long-range construction plan for ships. The service issued its long-range vessel construction plan to Congress this past April

"We are going to move to make it an addendum to the 30-year shipbuilding plan," Hill said Wednesday at an industry symposium at the Navy Yard in Washington. "And the 30-year shipbuilding, new-construction plan doesn't include modernization, which is critically important. If we are going to overmatch the threat again and again, we have to talk about modernization more."

The document will represent the Navy's shift toward offensive firepower, Hill said, which is focused on "changing the calculus of the adversary." He said officials working on the plan are taking into consideration everything from potential advances in technology, such as hypersonic missiles, to geopolitics and the future role of the Navy.

He added that predicting the future beyond five years is difficult, but said the Navy would endeavor to do it anyway with the pending combat-power plan. The document is expected to cover the years between 2015 and 2045.