Navy officials questioned on second destroyer cut

Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) questioned Navy officials today whether the service is "playing with the budget" by deciding not to fund a second DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the fiscal year 2022 budget.

During a subcommittee hearing today, Shelby said it's a "contradiction" that the FY-22 budget only includes one destroyer rather than the contracted two because the Navy's No. 1 unfunded requirement is $1.7 billion for a second destroyer.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said the Navy is not playing with the budget, but rather prioritizing training and readiness.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) asked Gilday and acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker if the second DDG-51 was excluded from the budget because they were given an inadequate topline they had to meet.

"As we went through and we balanced things out to provide the best budget we could, we did not have room for that destroyer in the budget," Harker said.

If the Navy were to pay for the second destroyer, the money would have to be taken from manpower, spare parts and ammunition, Gilday said.

Historically, that is a bad place to take money from, the admiral added.

While it was difficult to break an existing, multiyear contract and send "mixed signals" to industry, the Navy had to prioritize the investments and the fleet they have right now, according to Gilday.